If You Can Help Her
by witowsmp
Summary: Harry decides to help Ginny recover from her experience in the Chamber of Secrets, causing a special bond to form between them. Rating is for violence in the later chapters.  A French translation called Si tu peux l'aider is being written by Sined
1. Chapter 1 After the Chamber

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Alternate Universe

(An alternate ending to "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets")

Starts when Ginny wakes up in…

…The Chamber of Secrets - Chapter 17 – The Heir of Slytherin

The first paragraph is J. K. Rowling's work.

**If You Can Help Her**

"_I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and – w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"_

As Harry looked down at this weeping girl and saw how scared she was, he couldn't help but want to comfort her. He reached out his right hand and touched her chin to gently turn her head to face him. He said in the most confident voice he could muster after this ordeal, "What they'll say Ginny, is that they love you."

He had hoped that would stop her crying, but she cried even more. He moved both of his hands to her shoulders and pulled her into a warm embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder and continued sobbing for several minutes, until she looked awkwardly up at him and said, "Th-Thanks Harry."

Their eyes met at that instant, and for one second, Harry felt a jolt go through him, and he tensed up and let Ginny go. He smiled stupidly and said, "N-no problem. We need to g-get back to Ron."

"Is Ron down here?" asked Ginny.

"Yeah. A cave-in separated us. He's probably dug an opening for us by now."

They started walking, and left the chamber with Ron and Professor Lockhart. Harry explained what had happened and Ginny wasn't in any trouble. The victims of the basilisk were revived, and the end of year exams had been cancelled. Harry was sitting between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, eating lunch a few days before the train would take them home for the summer. Normally this would have been an exam day, but since exams were cancelled, it was a free day. Harry saw Ginny sitting on the left side of the table between Fred and George. He waved his hand at her. Her face turned redder than her hair, and she hid it in her hands. She had obviously been uncomfortable around him since they left the chamber of secrets. Fred and George waved at Harry.

"Ron?" Harry asked, "How's your sister been doing since-um-it happened."

"Well, to be honest I'm not sure. My brothers and I have been trying to keep her company. You know, Mum asked us to. Of course we'd have, we'd have done it anyway, y'know. She is our sister. Anyway she seems happy, but whenever we try to get her to talk about it, she just starts to look sad for a second, then she looks mad and says she doesn't want to talk about it."

"Of course she doesn't want to talk about it!" Hermione exclaimed, looking shocked at Ron's lack of understanding. "If that happened to you Ron, would you want to talk about it?" Before Ron could answer, Hermione said, "She needs to talk about it, but she feels embarrassed. She blames herself for what happened, no matter what anybody has told her. The trouble is, she doesn't feel ready to talk about it yet. Maybe she doesn't know who she'll feel comfortable talking to about it. This was a very personal assault on her."

"Who do you think she should talk to, Hermione?" asked Harry.

She gave him a meaningful look and said, "Oh I don't know. Someone she looks up to. Someone she feels she can trust. Someone who already knows what happened." Her eyes kept boring into Harry's skull. "Someone who was in the Chamber of Secrets with her. Someone who faced Tom Riddle. Someone who let her cry on his shoulder. Someone she wouldn't refuse to talk to."

"You mean me?" Harry asked, surprised. "She can't even look at me without getting embarrassed! Hold on! How do you know she cried on my shoulder?"

"She told me while I was trying to talk to her."

"She-she told you she wanted to talk to me?" Harry asked, feeling rather nervous.

"Not in so many words Harry! I got her to start saying what happened when she woke up in the chamber, and she mentioned how wonderful you were to her…before she told me she didn't want to talk about it."

"So you think she wants to talk to me? I j-just don't think that I'm the right person to talk about feelings with!"

Ron decided to speak up, "Harry, I know her crush on you makes you uncomfortable. It sometimes make me uncomfortable too. But if you can help her mate, you've got to."

Hermione looked at Harry and said, "You had the courage to face Professor Quirrel in when he was stealing the Philosopher's Stone! You had the courage to catch the snitch with a broken arm! You've had the courage to fight a basilisk! You had the courage to face Tom Riddle! Now you don't have the courage to face an eleven year old girl with a crush on you! Harry, you saved her life. When one witch or wizard saves another witch or wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them. She knows that. She won't refuse to talk to you, if you care enough to try!"

"It's not that I don't…I didn't ask…Fine! I'll try to talk to her today, but I think she's going to blush and run away!" Actually, he hoped that's what she'd do. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd been thinking a lot about the moment their eyes met, and he suspected that he had the beginning of certain feelings about his best friend's sister that he shouldn't have. However, they weren't very strong feelings anyway, so he could handle them. They just made him a tad uncomfortable around her. At least he didn't blush every time he saw her. He was silent for the rest of the meal, and neither Ron nor Hermione tried to bother him. They probably knew he was trying to figure out what to say to Ginny.

When everyone started to leave the Great Hall, Harry got up and walked toward Ginny. She, Fred, and George were just getting up to leave. Harry said, "Um, Ginny, um, can we go somewhere and talk, alone." Harry didn't think his blood was as red as Ginny's face turned. She started looking on the ground, shifting her feet on the floor. The twins were staring at the top of her head with an amused expression. A voice inside Harry's head was whispering, "Just say no! Just say no! Then I'll be off the hook!"

"Well, um, Ok Harry. Wh-where d-do y-you w-want to go?" Ginny answered in a very quiet, unsteady voice without looking up at him."

"We'll just excuse ourselves," said George.

"We know when we're not wanted," said Fred. Both of the twins smiled and walked off.

Harry wondered if Hermione had told them about her plan to have him talk to Ginny. The voice in his head said, "Great! Just great! Now you've got to talk to her!"

Harry listened to himself say, "I though we'd find someplace near the lake," and thought to himself, "now she's gonna think you want to date her, but you don't, or do you?"

She looked even more nervous, and if he wasn't mistaken, she trembled a little. But she said, still looking down at the floor, "Ok."

They walked in silence out the doors and toward the lake. He thought about taking her hand, but then decided it would be better not to. He didn't want her to get the wrong impression. When he found a place with no one around, he motioned for her to sit down. She did, and then he joined her.

The voice in his head said, "The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish," so he asked tentatively, "Are you alright Ginny?"

Still looking at the ground, she said, "I-I'm fine."

Harry knew that this couldn't work if she wouldn't even look at him. He gently asked, "Ginny, would you please look at me?" She moved her head to face him, and for a split second he thought about how cute she looked when she was blushing. Then he said, "A lot of people are worried about you, Gin. I'm worried about you. But I can't help you unless you talk to me."

"You already helped me," she said quickly. "You risked your life to save mine. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you. Thank you."

That made Harry uncomfortable, yet still determined. If she felt she owed him something, he'd use that. "I don't need thanks. I just need you to tell me the truth. What happened to you was horrible! You have every right to need help!" Harry was almost yelling. Harry then lowered his voice to almost a whisper, looked directly in her beautiful, brown eyes and said, "Please Ginny, tell me what you're feeling. Why are you trying so hard to convince everyone you're ok?"

"Because I'm tired of being a victim!" Ginny practically yelled at Harry, who flinched. Ginny then said, "I'm sorry, Harry. I've always been the baby; the sheltered, protected little girl who can't possibly take care of herself. And just to prove that's true, I went and got myself possessed by Voldemort." At that moment, tears started streaming down her eyes, but she kept speaking. "Now all my brothers keep bothering me. I know what they're up to! Mum told them they've got to protect me better! They already think I'm a baby! What'll they think if I tell them about the nightmares?" She stopped at that point, realizing she'd said more than she'd intended, and looked at the lake.

Harry knew he had to get her to keep talking. He wanted to help her. He slowly put his left hand on her chin, and turned her head toward him and asked, "Nightmares?"

Ginny looked at him for about thirty seconds, tears still streaming from her eyes, then said, "I don't suppose you'll let me get away without telling you about them?" He shook his head firmly. "You've got to promise not to tell anyone! Not Ron, not Hermione, not any of my family! Do you promise?"

Harry nodded his head and said, "Yes, I promise."

Ginny stopped crying, but still looked distraught. She said, "Every night since, it happened, I've been having same dream. I'm waking up in the Chamber of Secrets again. Only this time, after you help me up, you start yelling at me, asking me how I could do that. Why would I want to call that snake to petrify all those people? You tell me I belong in Azkaban with the rest of V-Voldemort's servants. You tell me I'm an embarrassment to my whole family. You also say that you were only trying to destroy Riddle; that you didn't think I was fit to live. Then you pick up your wand and point it at me. Then I wake up crying because I know everything you said is true." She started crying again.

He put his arms around her, and she once again leaned her head on his shoulder. He said, "It's not true! No one thinks that of you! I certainly don't"

Ginny smiled for about half a second, then said, "I do. I know I'm not supposed to blame myself, but sometimes I do. You know, you were right about what my parents would say. As soon as we were alone, the first thing they told me was that they love me and it wasn't my fault. But that doesn't change what I did. I'm so glad no one died, but they could have. You could have! It was all my fault! I was so stupid to keep writing in that diary. I should have known, should've been able to stop…"

"You made a mistake. Everybody does. You have to learn to live with that. My mother died to save me! Sometimes I feel like blaming myself, but it wasn't my fault! It was Voldemort's! Because of him I don't have parents! Because of him I live with the Dursley's! Because of him I've never heard anyone say they loved me!" He stopped at that moment. He'd said more than he'd meant to. What would she think of him now? Some little boy who wanted a mommy and daddy to say they loved their 'Itll Harrykin's

Ginny looked up at him, wanting to cry again. And for the first time in months, it wasn't for herself. She'd known what kind of life he'd had with the Dursley's, but it never occurred to her that the 'boy who lived' was also the 'boy nobody loved.' From what Harry had told them, the Dursley's would have told him everything in her nightmare. She wanted to help him. She wanted to shout at the top of her voice that she loved him, but knew that wouldn't work. He'd believe she was just saying it to make him feel better. But there are people that care about Harry. She decided to say, "Harry, there are a lot of people who care about you!"

"You mean like most of the school who thought I was the heir of Slytherin!" he asked, trying not to sound angry.

She decided to ignore the fact that she was the one doing what he'd been accused of and said, "No! I'm talking about Ron, Hermione, my parents, me."

Harry's cheeks flushed a little. He knew she was right about that. He just thought that it would be nice hearing it. He said, "I know. But to get back to what I was saying, What happened to you was Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy's fault!" Harry found himself understanding her more than he thought he did. "You were lonely. You had four brothers here, and none of them had time for you. One of them was spending all his time with me, someone you wanted to spend time with! Tom had time for you. Tom would listen to you."

"Tom was using me."

"We should've been spending time with you, Ginny. I'm sorry. I think I'm the reason we don't. I've been uncomfortable around you all year."

"Because my git of a brother said I have a crush on you." Her tear-stained face turned slightly pink, and she chuckled a little. "I guess, um, I can't deny it, especially now. You saved my life, Harry. That means, um, we have a bond."

"I've heard," Harry looked down, feeling uncomfortable again, "but I don't want you to feel that you owe…"

"I know Harry. You'd have rescued anybody there, except maybe Malfoy, and wouldn't even think of a reward. That's just who you are. You might not want to hear it, but you are my hero." She then smiled mischievously and said, "I understand if you can't handle having me around thinking that of you. I can pretend that I think you're a lousy git."

"I can handle it," Harry said quickly. "I want you to spend time with me, um, I mean us."

Ginny looked a bit shocked. She asked, "With you? As friends?"

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. The voice in his head said that he should say, "Absolutely!" but that wasn't exactly true. He said, "Yes, for now. Maybe more, later. I'm not sure."

She raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "For now? You're not sure?"

"Well, you've been honest with me, so I guess I should be honest with you."

"That sounds fair," she said uncertainly.

"Ginny," Harry took a deep breath. "I think you're really cute, but I'd like to spend more time with you before deciding how I feel about you." The moment he said, "You're really cute," Ginny blushed more than ever before. He then smiled and said, "After all, this is only our second real conversation. And the first one was under very bad circumstances."

"Um, I guess it is."

"Ginny," Harry asked, changing the subject.

"Yes."

"Sometimes I have nightmares about Voldemort. Ever since I met him last year. I dream that he comes back to power, and uses me to do it."

Ginny looked into Harry's emerald green eyes and said, "That's understandable, considering what he did to you. Destroying your family, trying to kill you, and all."

"And your nightmares are understandable, considering what he did to you," Harry smiled at her. "I can't take my wand and just obliviate your memory. You're going to have to live with what happened, like I've had to do, and learn not to blame yourself. I'll help you any way I can, and so will your family, and Hermione. But in the end, it's up to you. If you keep pretending that it didn't happen, that everything's ok when it's not, it'll destroy you, and Voldemort wins."

Ginny smiled a genuine smile at Harry and said, "I can't let him do that, can I?"

"No." Harry looked toward the lake and noticed that it was getting dark. He looked back at Ginny and said, "It's getting late. Wanna go back to the Common Room?"

"Ok."

Harry quickly got up and offered his hand to help her up. She took it. After she was up, they started walking, still holding hands. When they reached the portrait of the fat lady and Harry said the password, they were still holding hands.

"Harry, Ginny," came Ron's voice from Harry's left. He immediately let go of Ginny's hand and looked over at her brother. He was playing chess with a very frustrated-looking Hermione, who turned to face Harry and smiled.

Hermione stood up from her chair and said, "This is my third game I've lost to Ron today, Harry. Why don't you play him now?"

"I'm going to bed," Ginny said, sounding, in Harry's opinion, depressed again.

Harry said, "Actually Ron, if you don't mind, I'd like to borrow your board and play against Ginny." He turned toward her and said, "If you'd like."

Ron watched Ginny's face light up and got up from his chair and offered it to her saying, "Of course I don't mind. I've played enough today anyway." Both Ron and Hermione sat nearby.

Ginny said, "Sure Harry," and took the seat that Ron had vacated while Harry sat down opposite her. She tapped the board lightly with her wand, and the pieces reset. At that moment, Harry knew he was in for a rough game. Ron was cheering on Harry, while Hermione was supporting Ginny. After being quickly "Checkmated" he challenged her to two out of three.

After being destroyed five games in a row, he admitted, "You're even better than Ron!"

Laughing, she said, "Where do you think Ron learned how to play?" Harry thought she had a wonderful laugh.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ron, "You learned from me!"

"If you say so, dear brother. Care to prove it? If you don't mind, Harry."

"No, Ginny," Harry said, "I don't mind. I've been humiliated enough tonight. It'll be fun watching Ron lose for a change."

"And I thought you were my friend?" Ron said, his face turning red, "How could you say that? I'm gonna beat her!"

"I am your friend Ron," Harry said, laughing with Ginny and Hermione, "I just think that Ginny's better than you at chess."

"You too, Hermione? We'll see about that! Move over Harry!"

Harry and Hermione watched in amazement as the two chessmasters battled it out. The longer the game went, the more frustrated Ron became. His face was red and drenched with sweat. Ginny, on the other hand, Harry noticed, was beaming, looking more and more confident the longer the match went on. He thought to himself, "God, she looks gorgeous!" while the little voice in his head said, "She's Ron's little sister! Just a little girl!" Then he reasoned within himself, "She's just one year younger than me. That's no big deal! Anyway, just because I think she's beautiful doesn't mean I want to date her."

Lost in his own thoughts, he'd stopped paying attention to the game, instead, staring at Ginny's smile. All of the sudden, he watched her lips form the word, "Checkmate," and realized she'd won. He said, "Great job, Ginny! I wish I could play like that!"

Ron looked stunned. He said, "I don't believe it," got up, and walked toward the boys' dormitory, muttering something like, "I don't get enough sleep, that's it. I'm probably getting sick, too…"

Hermione stood up, said, "Good job, Ginny," and "Goodnight, both of you," and walked off toward the girls' dormitory, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

"You're amazing, Ginny." Harry said.

"Thanks." Ginny said, her cheeks going slightly pink. "That's nice of you to say."

"I mean it. This is the first time I've really watched you, um, seen you be yourself."

Ginny blushed a little more and said, "I guess I wasn't very impressive, dropping things, running out of the room, and being unable to speak."

Harry smiled and said, "To be honest, you seemed to be slightly smarter than Scabbers. Ron told me otherwise; it's just that until today, I had to take his word for it."

Ginny said, "Well, it was nice of Ron to say so, and it's nice to be able to talk to you."

Harry said, "I'm glad I finally got to meet you, an amazing person who can destroy Ron at his own game!" Ginny chuckled at this, and Harry continued, "You know, he really does care a lot about you. He doesn't like to show it. I guess most guys don't like to show their feelings."

"I know," she said. Harry wondered if she meant she knew Ron cared or that guys don't show their feelings, but he never got the chance to ask before she stood up and said, "Goodnight Harry, I'm going to bed."

He said, "Goodnight," and watched her walk up the stairs, then went over to a chair near the fire and sat up, thinking about his new friend, or more. "Ok," he said to himself, "she's interesting, and I enjoy being with her, and she's amazing. At chess, amazing at chess. But I can't just spend all my free time losing to her in chess." For now he decided that he'd wait to make a decision about that." He went to bed.

The next morning Ron and Hermione got Harry up a few minutes early to talk about Ginny in the common room. They said that Ginny seemed much happier and asked if she'd talked to him about Tom Riddle. He said that she had, but that he couldn't tell them about it, which made Ron a little upset but Hermione was glad that he was keeping Ginny's confidence. He also told them that he'd invited Ginny to hang out with them, which they both said was thoughtful. Ron mentioned that Ginny was talking around Harry, at which point Harry turned slightly pink and said, "Yeah, we talked about that, too."

At that moment Ginny's voice came from the stairs. "Good morning! Talking about me?"

Harry turned to look at her. She looked tired. She was smiling, but it wasn't her genuine smile. Harry wondered if she'd had another nightmare.

"No!" they all lied in unison.

"Sure," Ginny said, "What did Harry say?"

Ron answered, "That it was none of our business what you said to him! Come to it, it's none of your business what Harry said to us!"

"It's Ginny's business if we're talking about her," Hermione said, giving Ron a dirty look. We asked him because we care about you, Ginny. All he said was that he couldn't tell us whatever you talked about. Honestly, Harry kept your confidence."

"I guess it's ok, then, but I don't like people prying into my business!"

"Ginny," Harry said, "can we talk?"

"About what?" asked Ginny.

Harry got up and whispered into her ear, "You look tired? Did you have another nightmare?"

Ginny dropped her fake smile and said out loud, "Yes Harry, we can talk," as she started for the door. Harry followed. They came to the same spot they'd been the day before.

"When they'd sat down, Harry asked, "Was it the same one you've been having?"

"No Harry, it was a little different. This time I dreamed what really happened, until the point after you hugged me. Our eyes met and you, um, well…"

"Kissed you?" suggested Harry, looking very red.

"Ginny turned a dark shade of magenta and said, "Uh, yes. I didn't wake up crying, though."

"Well, um," Harry was trying to think of something to say.

Ginny smiled her real smile and said, "You seem just a little smarter than Scabbers."

"I guess so. I just don't know what to say. I don't know how I feel about you. Do you want me to lie to you, or try to take advantage of you."

"No. No, Harry, I don't want you to lie to me. I'm also not a musician playing song after song hoping that the audience will finally hear one they like and applaud. You know how I feel about you, and I don't think I should have to wait five years before I find out how you feel about me. Maybe there are things we're too young for. But we can be together and grow up together! I'm not asking you to marry me. I'm only just about twelve. If you decide later that you don't like me, we can break up."

Harry looked at her thoughtfully for about a minute while she was staring into his eyes. He finally said, "Tomorrow we're going back home. The Dursley's won't let me visit anybody. The best I could hope for would be letters, but they wouldn't even let me use Hedwig last summer. Even if we were going out, we wouldn't be going out. Could you please give me this summer to think about it? I'll give you an answer before term starts. If your family rescues me again, I'll have an answer before then."

He could tell that she wasn't entirely happy about his answer, but was accepting it. She said, "Ok Harry. I guess you've got a point about the Dursleys. I'll wait the summer for you."

"Thank you," Harry said, "There is one thing you could do for me, while you're waiting."

Ginny looked impatient and said, "What? You want me to! Never mind! What is it?"

Harry smiled and said, "You can tell Ron that we're dating and see how he feels about it."

"You want me to tell Ron we're, we're dating. Are you saying you've decided?"

"Yes Ginny, but I wasn't kidding about the Dursleys. I wouldn't be surprised if I can't contact you this summer."

"I understand, but what I don't understand is why you won't tell Ron yourself," said Ginny.

Harry looked surprised and exclaimed, "He might kill me!"

Ginny said, "What? You're afraid to tell Ron? You've fought a basilisk! You've faced Voldemort! But you're afraid to face Ron?"

Harry chuckled and said, "You sound just like Hermione!"

Ginny asked, "What do you mean?"

Harry thought fast. He didn't want her to know that he'd been talked into talking to her. He said, "I, um, was nervous about something recently and she gave me a speech like that. Anyway, you've talked me into it. We'll go see him right now and we'll tell him."

"Ok Harry but, aren't you gonna kiss me first?"

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About half an hour later, the door to the Gryffindor common room opened to Harry and Ginny, holding hands. They looked around and saw Ron and Hermione sitting near the fireplace. Ron had a mug of steaming hot chocolate in his left hand. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, smiled, then walked straight up to Ron and Hermione, while still holding hands.

Harry said, "Ron, Hermione, I'd, we'd like to tell you something."

Hermione smiled, and Ron said, "What? Where were you during breakfast? Ginny, are you gonna tell us what's bothering you?" Hermione put her head in her hands, stifling a laugh.

Ginny said, "No Ron, that's none of your business! We just thought that you two should be the first to know that Harry and I are dating."

"What! Oww!" At that moment Ron had been lifting up his mug to take a sip. He accidentally spilled the contents onto his lap. He jumped out of the chair while Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were doing their best not to laugh. Ron saw Hermione point her wand at his crouch and he flung his hands in front of it and screamed, "What are you doing!"

Hermione blushed slightly and said, "I was just going to, um cool, um it down some. Sorry." She hid her face in her hands as it began to match Ron's hair color.

Ron's face was a bright Gryffindor red. He said, "No, that's ok. Leave it alone! I'll go change my pants."

Ginny said, "What's wrong Ron? Were you hoping for an enlargement charm?"

Ron hid his face in his hands while Harry and Ginny burst out laughing.

When they were done laughing and Ron had changed pants, they all sat down facing each other. Ron asked, "Were you serious about going out?"

"Yes." Both Harry and Ginny answered together.

Harry said, "We won't actually be going on a date until I get away from the Dursley's, but we are, um, dating."

Ron looked very serious. He asked, "Have you two, um, y'know, snogged?" Both Harry and Ginny turned red at once, and even Ron could figure out what that meant. Ron looked mad. He yelled, "HARRY! How could you do that? Take advantage of my sister? I'm gonna…"

"SHUT UP RON!" Ginny yelled, "If he'd wanted to take advantage of me he could've done it any time this year. It was my idea to kiss him!"

"And he was happy to oblige! Harry, you know she's emotionally vulnerable and needs help! I trusted you!" He rose to his feet and pulled his spell-o-taped wand out and pointed it at Harry."

Ginny shouted, "What are you gonna do? Make Harry die laughing while you belch slugs again?"

"Very funny," Ron yelled, "Fine! I'm leaving! I thought you were my friend! I should've left you with the Dursley's…"

At that moment Hermione, who'd been quiet, trying to stay out of this argument couldn't hold back. She screamed at Ron, "IF YOU'D DONE THAT YOUR SISTER WOULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW AND VOLDEMORT WOULD HAVE RETURNED!"

Ron flinched at hearing the name, and then said, "So we should all just give our sisters to the great, famous, rich, Harry Potter!"

That got Harry upset. He rose up out of his seat and shouted at Ron, "You know what? We weren't asking for permission! We just thought we should let you know! We have! Don't talk to me until you're ready to stop being a git! Ginny, Hermione, see you later."

Ginny got up and said, "Harry, wait for me!" She gave Ron the dirtiest look she could, told Hermione goodbye, grabbed Harry's hand, and walked with him out onto the grounds. After they spent a few hours verbally abusing Ron (when they weren't snogging) Harry said, "It must be about lunchtime by now. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Since both of them had missed breakfast, Ginny agreed and they went to the Great Hall together. They arrived about ten minutes early and sat down.

Meanwhile, Hermione had managed to calm Ron down somewhat, reminding him what a good friend Harry was, and how his sister had adored him for so long. She also reminded him that Ginny had been happier for the last few days than she had been in a long time, and that Harry wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She then asked him whom he would prefer to see Ginny kissing instead of Harry, to which he had no answer. She then suggested that they go down to lunch early. They arrived at the Great Hall five minutes before lunch.

Hermione was facing Ron, saying, "I wonder what we'll be having for…"

"That rotten, no good git!"

"What!" yelled Hermione, clearly confused by what he had said.

Completely ignoring her, Ron said, "I'll kill him!"

Hermione turned to see Harry snogging Ginny passionately, and Ron walking up to them with his fists clenched. Hermione saw plainly that Harry did not see Ron coming, nor was he likely to notice if a troll walked in the Great Hall. Ron might hurt Harry, and then regret it later. Not to mention she was on Harry's side anyway. She whipped out her wand, pointed it at Ron, and said, "Petrificus Totalus." Ron's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board. He landed just a few feet from Harry. The noise from his fall seemed to bring Harry and Ginny back to reality. Harry looked at Ron, and then at Hermione. It didn't take him long to figure out what had happened. She'd probably just saved his life.

"What's she done to him," Ginny whispered.

"It's the full Body-Bind," said Harry miserably. "I think he was going to kill me but Hermione stopped him.

"Miss Granger," came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall, "I saw that! I'm surprised at you! How could you attack your friend like that? From behind, no less. If the term hadn't already ended, I'd have taken fifty points and given you detention."

Hermione ran over to Professor McGonagall, who was pulling out her wand to unpetrify Ron, who couldn't move but could see the floor very clearly and hear every word they said.

"Professor," Hermione gasped, "I'm so sorry. We were just having a bit of fun, ambushing each other, weren't we Harry." The look she gave Harry told him that if he didn't agree he'd find himself in the full Body-Bind.

"Yes, Professor. It was to practice Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was her turn. We weren't involving anyone else."

"My turn was next," added Ginny, smiling, "I was gonna stupify Harry!".

"We'll see about that," said McGonagall sharply, and she pointed her wand at Ron and unpetrified him.

Ron said, "That was a good one, Hermione, even better than the 'Eat Slugs' curse I put on you earlier." Hermione frowned at that lie, but didn't say anything.

"Then it's true, Mr. Weasley, that you have been practicing Defense?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Yes."

"Well then, if you feel the need for further practice, then may I suggest that you form a new dueling club next year. In the mean time, however, practice is over."

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all said in unison with fake serious looks on their faces, "Yes Professor."

Once the teacher was out of earshot, Hermione hissed at Ron, "What were you going to do."

Ron hissed back, "Nothing serious. Just separate Harry's head from the rest of his body. Then he'll be able to join the headless hunt. Snogging my sister like that, in front of everybody!"

"Oh grow up Ron," said both Hermione and Ginny together.

Then Hermione said, "Don't you remember what we talked about in the common room? You've got to let Ginny make her own decisions! I know you. If she breaks up with Harry and starts snogging some other boy, will you kill him too? You can't attack every bloke she decides to kiss! You have to accept the fact that she's a girl, with normal feelings. And Harry is a boy, with normal feelings."

"Fine!" yelled Ron, "but I don't have to like it!" then he turned to Harry and Ginny, and said in a much softer voice, "I'm sorry I lost my temper, I'm just not used to this. It might take me awhile to get used to it. I'll try not to interfere, but Harry."

"Yes Ron."

"If you hurt my sister, I will kill you."

"I know Ron."

The four of them hung out for the rest of the day. Every time Harry or Ginny touched the other (held hands, arm around shoulder) Ron looked agitated, but said nothing. The next day they sat together on the Hogwarts Express. After they'd left Platform nine and three-quarters, Harry heard Uncle Vernon's voice shout, "There you are boy! It took you long enough! Let's go."

Automatically, Harry said, "Yes Uncle Vernon, I'm com…"

At that moment, Ginny had just snuck up on Harry and kissed him. It was only a short kiss, but it brought a smile to his face. Ginny then said, "Bye Harry, see you later."

"Bye Ginny," Harry said blushing and absentmindedly waving his hand at her.

"Boy, I'm waiting," yelled Uncle Vernon as he grabbed Harry's arm and started pulling him away from the railroad station. "So, you've got a girlfriend, do you? Don't expect to see her this summer! If SHE shows up at the house, I will slam the door in her face! Do you hear me, boy? Hopefully she'll have another boyfriend by the end of the summer. Looks like a tease, that one!" Uncle Vernon droned on and on, but Harry hadn't heard a word of it. He was just thinking about that kiss, and how much he looked forward to the next one. This was going to be a very long summer.

-

Please review. For those of you who feel that Harry and Ginny are snogging too young, there is an explanation for it. They are unaware of it, but a type of magical bond has formed between them that will manifest itself in more interesting ways later. It will be fully explained in the chapter called, "The Bond Explained."


	2. Chapter 2 Diagon Alley

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 2**

Starts when Harry wakes up in…

…The Prisoner of Azkaban - Chapter 4 – The Leaky Cauldron

Harry woke up in his room at the Leaky Cauldron on the last day of the summer holidays, a bit disappointed that he hadn't seen Ginny yet, but happy that he would at least see her the next day on the Hogwarts Express. He reminded himself that he also missed Ron and Hermione, but he knew that he missed his girlfriend more. He hadn't heard from anyone since he'd arrived on the Knight Bus just a few weeks earlier, and wondered how she, er, they were. He knew the Weasleys were in Egypt, but they had to be home by now. He knew they wouldn't make their kids miss the start of term for a vacation. He'd enjoyed these past weeks of freedom, but he couldn't help thinking about how much more he would have enjoyed them if he'd been with Ginny. Smiling, he turned to a stack of letters on the night stand by his bed and grabbed the first one and reread it for the millionth time.

_Dear Harry,_

_Hi Harry! How are you doing? I hope the Dursleys are at least allowing you to use Hedwig!_

_My family saw me kiss you at the train station yesterday, and immediately began questioning me about it. My parents actually seemed pleased about it. Percy started saying that I was behaving 'inappropriately' until I reminded him about when I caught him with Penelope and threatened to tell our parents about it. That shut him up fast! The twins have been harassing me about it, and unfortunately, I don't have anything to blackmail them with, YET. In other words, things are relatively normal here. It's a lot better than being pitied for what happened._

_I had another nightmare last night. I dreamed about the Dursleys locking you up, telling you that you're not fit to live, and not letting you come back to school. I miss you already! I wish you could have just stayed the summer with us!_

_Write back soon!_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

That was the first letter he'd gotten from her, a few days after he'd gotten home. He figured that Errol must have gotten lost on the way. He'd sent his response back with Hedwig, asking Ginny to use his owl, and sent Errol back empty-handed. They'd corresponded a lot over most of the summer. She'd told him about her days, sneaking her brothers' brooms to practice flying, going down to the pond nearby, and everything else that happened at the Burrow. He would talk about how his time with the Dursleys was going. Her letters made him happy, but he feared that his letters made her sad. He'd commented on that in his fourth letter, to which she responded, "_It makes me happy to know that my letters make you feel a little happier. It also makes me happy that you're willing to tell me how the Dursleys are treating you, and share your feelings with me. Don't you dare start telling me what you think I want to hear! What I want to hear from you is the truth!" _ After that he decided to keep telling her the truth. He was glad to find out that her family had won the Grand Prize Galleon Draw, but didn't really think it was a good idea for them to spend the money on a month long vacation instead of buying things they needed, such as new clothes and books, etc. Mr. Weasley may even have been able to buy a new car. Harry himself had managed to avoid splurging his money. However, he kept those thoughts to himself, and hoped they'd have a good time on their trip. On his birthday, he'd received gifts from Hagrid (the biting book), Hermione (the broomstick servicing kit), Ron (the pocket sneakoscope), and Ginny. What she got him was a framed picture of herself in dress robes. Whenever he'd look at it, she would either smile, wink, or blow kisses at him. At the bottom of the silver frame the words, "I Love You!" were written in big gold letters. The card she sent with it said, "_I hope you don't think it's too corny or stupid, but I wanted to be the first person to tell you that I love you, and I don't want you to forget it!"_ This had really touched him, and he said so in his response, along with telling her that he loved her too. They'd continued writing each other until Aunt Marge came and he sent Hedwig to the Weasleys for safe keeping. When Hedwig arrived at the Leaky Cauldren without any note, he was surprised. He wasn't entirely sure he should be sending Hedwig out since he wasn't allowed to leave Diagon Alley, so he didn't send any letters to Ginny. He hoped she wouldn't be mad at him. He set the letter down and picked up the picture she had sent him and smiled as he stared at it for several minutes before getting out of bed and facing the day. He got up, dressed, went for a last look at the Firebolt, and was just wondering where he'd have lunch, when someone yelled his name and he turned.

"Harry, HARRY!"

There they were, all three of them, sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor – Ron and Ginny both looking incredibly freckly, Hermione very brown, all waving frantically at him.

After discussing what had happened with Aunt Marge, which both Ron and Ginny thought was terribly funny while Hermione didn't seem to agree, Harry asked if they'd gotten everything they wanted. When Hermione mentioned that she wanted an owl and Ron needed Scabbers checked over, Harry saw his opportunity. He pointed them both toward the magical creature shop and said that Ginny and he would catch up with them later. Ginny blushed, Hermione smiled at Harry, and Ron rolled his eyes.

After Hermione dragged Ron away, Harry put his arms around Ginny, kissed her, and said, "I missed you so much!"

"Me, too!" she said, gazing into his eyes.

"Well, well, well," came a familiar, hated voice from across the street. They broke apart and Harry turned and saw a tall, skinny boy with blonde hair surrounded by his two goons.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry shouted while Draco Malfoy stepped forward.

"You should be more careful, Potter, kissing the Dark Lord's mistress like that," Malfoy said with a sneer.

With a look of pure hatred on his face, while reaching for his wand, Harry stepped in front of Ginny and shouted, "Don't you DARE call her that!"

Draco smiled and said, "I suppose a stupid son of a mudblood like you doesn't understand, but the Dark Lord doesn't like to lose his…possessions. Neither do I!"

Harry knew Malfoy's "possession" was Dobby and didn't care what Malfoy said about that. But he just called Ginny Voldemort's possession. Draco was gonna pay for that! Harry raised his wand and was about to hex the smile off of Draco's face when he heard Ginny whisper from behind him, "You're already in trouble, let me do it." Harry put his wand down and saw Draco smile for a split second before it happened. Malfoy's face started to expand, his eyes bulged, and his mouth stretched too tightly for speech – he was inflating like a monstrous balloon, his stomach bursting free from his belt, each of his fingers blowing up like a salami.

"MALFOY!" yelled Crabbe and Goyle together as Draco's whole body began to rise into the air. Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, then at Harry's and Ginny's wands, and ran off.

Harry was standing there in shock for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. Ginny then said, "Harry, let's go," and grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the Magical Menagerie where Ron and Hermione had gone.

"I hope you don't get into too much trouble for that," Harry said, still laughing.

"It won't be nearly as bad as performing magic in front of a muggle. Besides, do you think Draco will admit that a girl younger than him got the drop on him?" Ginny said with a chuckle.

"I love you, Ginny," Harry said, with a more serious look in his eyes.

"I love you, too," Ginny replied, putting her hand in his.

"How'd you learn how to do that anyway?" Harry asked.

"Well, after I heard you'd done it, it sounded so funny that I had to learn the spell. I've been dying for an opportunity to try it out!"

"I guess you'll have to thank Draco, if he ever comes down," Harry said, pointing at the figure still floating higher in the sky like a helium balloon.

"Is that Malfoy up there?" came Ron's voice from behind them. He was massaging his head.

"Yes, it sure is!" laughed Harry. "I wonder what happened. Ginny and I were having a pleasant conversation with him and he started floating away. I don't have any idea what happened!"

Ron laughed, "I know it's funny, very funny, and I'm sure he deserved it, but you really shouldn't try to get in trouble like…that." He then burst out laughing again.

Harry said, "I honestly didn't do it, Ron!"

"Then who?"

"I did," bragged Ginny. "He did deserve it and I'm not sorry! He said I was…I was," Ginny looked down at this point.

Harry gripped her hand tighter and said, "He said she was Voldemort's possession." He then lifted Ginny's face up with his free hand, looked in her eyes and said, "But it's not true, Ginny! Don't ever think that it is!"

"Of course not, Ginny! Who cares what that git thinks!" Ron said. Then Ron smiled and said, "One of you has got to teach me that hex!" They all laughed for a minute, then Ron said, "Come on guys, we've got to get to the magical creature shop. As they reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn't carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around an enormous ginger cat. "You bought that monster?" said Ron, his mouth hanging open.


	3. Chapter 3 A Sleepless Night

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 3**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – in between Chapters 5 and 6

Harry couldn't see anything, but felt that something was terribly wrong. He was sweating and feeling a tremendous urge to scream. There was an intruder in the house, and there was nothing he could do about it. He heard a woman screaming desperately, and then the screams stopped suddenly. A few seconds later, a wand was pointed at his forehead, and then he saw a green flash.

Harry opened his eyes and sat up immediately and looked around. He was in his four-poster bed at Hogwarts. Judging by how dark it was outside, it was the middle of the night. He had just been having a nightmare. His breathing began to relax as he recalled the events of the previous day.

He had woken up in the leaky cauldron, ate with the Weasleys, and ridden a Ministry car to Kings Cross Station. He hadn't gotten to spend much time at all with Ginny; in fact, he didn't even ride in the same car as she did. The train ride wasn't all that pleasant either. Professor Lupin was sleeping in the only available compartment they could find. Not that he was complaining about the Professor, but his presence in the compartment was not conducive to snogging his girlfriend. Not to mention that he had just finished telling her and his two best friends that there was a killer after him. Add to that the dementor attack on the train, and he wished that he had taken the flying Ford Anglia to school again. He'd take the Whomping Willow over a dementor any day. "The dementor," he thought to himself. "That's where I heard those screams before! Great, not only did that creature make me pass out in front of my girlfriend, but it's giving me nightmares too!"

He decided that he needed to take a walk, so he quietly got dressed and snuck down the stairs carrying his invisibility cloak.

He walked up to the portrait door, wrapped his cloak around him, and heard a familiar voice call out his name. He looked around for the source of that voice, and saw a cute red head girl sitting in front of the fire. He took off his cloak and said, "Ginny?"

"Yes Harry, it's me," she said quietly while getting up out of her chair and slowly walking toward him. "What are you doing? Is that an invisibility cloak?"

"Yeah Gin, it's an invisibility cloak. It used to belong to my dad. I was just going for a little walk. Would you care to join me?"

"It's against school rules," she said before grinning mischievously, "Are you sure we can both fit under it?"

"Sure. I've had Ron and Hermione under it with me plenty of times. Come on Ginny. I missed you so much this summer and I hardly had any time alone with you yesterday."

She walked up to him, put her arms around him, and said, "OK."

Harry wrapped the invisibility cloak around them and kissed her deeply. When they went up for air he smiled and said, "I've always wanted to kiss someone under that cloak. Come on." To the outside observer, the door appeared to open of its own accord, and then shut.

"Wow, Harry!" Ginny whispered as they walked through the castle, "This is great! We have free reign of the castle now! We can go wherever we like!"

"Shh!" whispered Harry. "We can still be heard! We've got to make sure nobody catches us until we get to a place more secluded. Like the charms classroom. The door to it never locks."

Not long after, the door to the charms classroom appeared to open and shut of its own accord.

Ginny and Harry, still under the cloak, walked to the farthest corner of the room. "Should we take off the cloak, Harry?" asked Ginny as they sat down on one of the pillows facing each other.

"I don't think so," replied Harry, a wicked smile on his face, "for two reasons. One is just in case someone looks in here, the other is that I enjoy being under the cloak with you." He kissed her lightly, and she deepened the kiss.

A few minutes later, Harry broke off the kiss and said, "I can't believe I survived all summer without that."

Ginny put on a very serious looking expression and said, "I believe that the stress caused by your lack of snogging manifested itself in your blowing up your Aunt Marge. If your Uncle Vernon would have allowed you to visit me and snog your tension away with me, it would never have happened."

Harry chuckled and asked, "How can you say that with a straight face?"

Still holding her serious expression, Ginny stated, "If you want to maintain the reputation of being a perfect angel, your mother's precious innocent baby, you have to learn to lie with a straight face while implicating your brothers for every misdeed you perform."

Harry laughed out loud this time and said, "I wish I could have gone with you to Egypt! I missed you so much!"

"Ron and I both suggested it, but we wouldn't have been able to afford staying as long if you were with us. Mum and dad wanted to stay as long as possible."

"I could have paid my way!" said Harry, "I hope they don't think I'm just some kind of freeloader!"

"A freeloader? No Harry, my parents think the world of you, especially after you saved me. They'd be ashamed to ask you to pay your own way! They feel you're part of the family." Then she looked him in the eye, smiled, and said, "Maybe one day, you will," and winked at him. Harry turned scarlet.

Wanting to change the subject, Harry asked, "What were you doing in the common room anyway?"

That took the smile off Ginny's face. "I-I'd rather not talk about it."

"Ginny," Harry said, taking her hands in his with a look of concern on his face, "This is me, Harry. You can tell me anything. Did you have another nightmare?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep. I was thinking about what I saw when the dementor was in our compartment."

Harry frowned and said, "I certainly proved what a great 'hero' the bloody 'Boy Who Lived' is, didn't I? I'm sorry you had to watch your 'brave hero' collapse like that. I…"

"Stop it Harry! That's not what I meant! As far as I'm concerned, you're still the basilisk slayer that saved me from Tom, and you always will be! And more importantly, I love you! When you woke up, you said you heard screaming."

"That's right, but Ron said nobody screamed."

"I didn't hear screaming Harry, but I heard laughter, very familiar laughter! I heard Tom laughing at me, telling me how I was going to die, and he was going to kill you."

"Oh my God," said Harry. "But, how…"

"I asked Professor Lupin about it today after the feast. He said that dementors force you to relive the worst experiences of your life. For me, it was the Chamber of Secrets, but for you, it was something else." She looked into his eyes with love and concern, and said, "Harry, I think that what you heard was…"

"my mother being killed by Voldemort." Harry looked down at the floor and said, "Probably. That's why I got up tonight. I had a nightmare about it. I heard him kill her, but I couldn't do anything about it."

"You were one year old, Harry!"

"I know. Then he turned his wand on me. I saw a green flash of light, and woke up. That's when I decided to go downstairs. To try to…shh!"

At that moment, the classroom door opened, and two identical boys with red hair and twin smiles walked into the room, one of which was holding an old parchment and staring at it intently. Harry heard him mutter something that sounded like, "Mischief managed," while the other one walked right up to where he and Ginny were hiding under the cloak. This person held out his hand, feeling around for something, finally grabbing the cloak and pulling it off of them."

This intruder acted shocked and said, "Genevra Weasley, how could you disgrace our family like this? Sneaking around…"

"That's our job," said the other twin, "You're supposed to be our mother's perfect little angel. And you, Harry. I'd never have believed…" At this moment Harry's face went magenta as he looked as he carefully studied the floor tiles.

"Shut up Fred!" said Ginny, looking daggers at her brothers, "You too George! What are you doing here, besides trying to get hexed?"

Both Fred and George put an expression of mock-concern on their faces and said together, "defending our baby sister's honor!"

"Someone has to," added Fred, with a smile on his face.

"We were on our way to the kitchens for a midnight snack," said George.

"When we thought we'd see if anyone was snogging in this room."

"You knew we were here," said Harry, speaking for the first time since the twins had arrived. "You felt around for my cloak! How did you know?"

"Our secrets are our secrets!" said the twins together. "Go snog in the common room."

Harry said, "We weren't…"

"Sure," said George. "Just remember that if you hurt our sister…"

"We can find you anywhere at Hogwarts, invisibility cloak or not!" finished Fred.

With that said, the twins left the room, and Harry could swear he heard one of them saying something about being "up to no good."

He turned to Ginny and said, "Maybe we should leave."

She nodded as Harry wrapped the cloak around them. Ginny smiled and said, "We really should follow their advice, you know."

"What advice," asked Harry, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Ginny put on her serious face again and said, "They advised us to 'go snog in the common room' and that's exactly what we should do."

They both laughed as they approached the door determined to follow the twins' advice to the letter.

-----------


	4. Chapter 4 Halloween

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 4**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 8 – Flight of the Fat Lady

On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast, feeling slightly disappointed that he couldn't visit Hogsmeade, but glad that he would be able to spend the whole day with Ginny. They had decided to spend the day doing anything but homework. They didn't have a set schedule; they'd do whatever they wanted (without getting expelled), wandering around the castle and grounds. They even planned to have a picnic at their favorite spot by the lake. At breakfast, Ron and Hermione promised to bring them lots of sweets from Honeydukes, and then left the castle, promising to return for the evening feast. Ginny and Harry decided to play a few games of chess, so they walked hand in hand back to the common room.

After being beaten three times, Harry said, "I think you've proven your superiority in chess, Ginny. Could we do something else now?"

Ginny smiled and said lightly, "Sore loser. If you insist. What do you want to do now?"

"I know it's only ten o'clock, but I thought we could go down to the lake with our picnic basket now. It'll give us time to talk. It's hard to find time for that without sneaking around in the middle of the night."

Ginny chuckled and said, "I didn't think that was so bad. I just wish we did that more often." She then put on a concerned expression and looked in Harry's eyes and asked, "Was there something specific you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I don't know. I just enjoy being alone with you, not just for kissing, but really talking to you." Harry took her hand in his and said, "I miss that."

Ginny squeezed his hand and said, "Okay Harry; I miss that, too. Let's go. But could we stop by the Owlery first? I have to send a letter to my mum."

"Sure, no problem. If you'd like, you can use Hedwig."

"Really? Thanks Harry. I never feel comfortable using Errol. I'm always worried he'll drop dead on the way."

Harry chuckled and said, "I know what you mean." He stood up from the table and helped Ginny up.

They walked out the portrait towards the Owlery. Before they reached it, they heard a voice calling Harry's name. They looked around for the source of the voice, and saw Professor Lupin. He invited them into his office for a cup of tea and showed them a grindylow he'd just taken delivery of. They spent about an hour with him, talking about grindylows, boggarts, and dementors. While they were there, Professor Snape arrived with a smoking goblet for Professor Lupin. Despite veiled warnings from both Harry and Ginny, Lupin drank it, claiming that he'd been ill.

Not long after, they left his office, and continued on to the Owlery, where Ginny tied her letter to Hedwig after adding, "P.S. Harry says hi. He let me borrow Hedwig." When Hedwig had flown away, Ginny walked up to Harry, put her arms around his waist and said, "Thank you," and proceeded to kiss him deeply. After snogging for a few minutes, Harry and Ginny headed outside to their favorite spot by the lake, holding hands.

Ginny sat down first, then Harry sat down a few feet away, facing her, looking nervous. Ginny, noticing how far away he'd chosen to sit, looked concerned. They faced each other for about five minutes before Harry finally spoke. He said, "Ginny?"

Ginny's voice was very shaky when she answered, "Yes?"

"Um, I, That is, Have you felt that things are moving too fast with us?"

She looked like she was unsuccessfully hiding concern when she said, "Um, What do you mean?"

"I mean, most kids don't start snogging like we've been until they're fourteen or fifteen. Do you think we're a bit too young?"

"Harry," Ginny said with a sad expression on her face, "Are you trying to break up with me?"

"No, Ginny!" Harry moved forward, gently grabbing onto her hands, "Don't think that! That's not it at all! How could I ever want to break up with you? You mean so much to me!"

Ginny's expression changed from sad to concerned as she said, "You mean a lot to me too and I'm glad you don't want to break up, but tell me, what's bothering you?"

"It's just, I overheard some people talking about us, saying that I'm taking advantage of you. I'm thirteen, which, in their opinion, is a little young for snogging, but you're only twelve." He looked directly into her eyes and continued, "I don't normally care what people are saying about me, but this really got me to thinking. Ginny, I've been expressing how I feel about you in the way that seems natural to me, but I don't want you to feel pressure to do anything you don't feel ready for. I'm not trying to take advantage of you. I would never do anything to hurt you in any way. Please tell me if I start to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I promise that I won't get mad at you."

Ginny closed her eyes for a few moments, while a small smile formed on her lips. She said softly, "You're worried about me. That's why you wanted to talk to me. You really do care about me."

"Of course I care about you, Gin."

"Well then I thank you for your concern. It does mean a lot to me, but I want to make it clear to you that I would never let anyone, not even you, pressure me into something I didn't want to do! As far as being too young, I don't think either of us should worry about that. I feel that our experiences with Tom have made us age quicker. We've both had to face the real possibility of dying! My experience with him changed me! I'm not an innocent little girl anymore! I shared my mind with pure evil! I've felt his hatred, and now I'm ready to feel love. That doesn't mean I'll let you do anything you want, Harry. I enjoy snogging you, but I'm not about to let you do more than that. At least, not for a few years. Not until I feel that I'm ready. So to answer your question; No, I don't feel like snogging you is going too fast, and I don't care what anybody says about us! In fact, I want to snog you right now!" With that said, she leaned into his face and began doing just that.

Hours later they found themselves back in the common room playing exploding snap when Ron and Hermione returned from Hogsmeade. They showered both Harry and Ginny with candy and proceeded to tell them all about the village. When it was time, they all went to the feast together and thoroughly enjoyed it. They were all in high spirits when they started back toward Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" said Ron curiously.

Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed.

It turned out that Sirius Black had somehow gotten into the castle during the feast and attempted to enter Gryffindor Tower. When the Fat Lady refused him entrance, he got mad and slashed her portrait with a knife. All the students ended up spending the night in sleeping bags in the Great Hall. Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were together in a corner pretending to be asleep while teachers returned every hour, thinking that all the students were carefree enough to be able to sleep with no concern that a crazy murderer might be running loose in the castle; and deaf so they wouldn't hear the teachers talking.

Some time during the night, Harry heard Ginny, who was in the next sleeping bag over, sobbing. He whispered to her, "Ginny, besides the obvious, what's the matter?"

She whispered back, "He's after you, Harry! Don't you see? If he'd run into you, he'd have killed you! Doesn't that even bother you?"

Harry reached his right arm out of his sleeping and began drying her eyes with his hand. He whispered, "Of course it bothers me a little, but like you said earlier, I've had to face death before. Maybe I'm starting to get used to it. Anyway, it didn't happen, and I can't worry about what might have happened. In my first year, I might have been killed by a cursed broom, a three-headed dog, devil's snare, a life-size chess set, a potion, a troll, or Voldemort himself. In my second year I might have been killed by a whomping willow, a cursed bludger, a huge spider, a basilisk, or Voldemort again. Now it's one of his supporters after me. I'm beginning to pick up a pattern. There's always someone or something trying to do me in. I think the best thing to do is not let it ruin my life. Right now I've got the two best friends anybody could ask for, and I'm going out with cutest witch at Hogwarts!" At this moment Ginny blushed. Harry continued, "I'm happy and healthy, and I get to sleep near my girlfriend tonight. No one can bother us with this many students around. Try to go to sleep Ginny, and don't worry about anything. If you do, I promise that I'll kiss you good morning. Now give me a smile, Ginny."

She managed a small smile and whispered, "Good night Harry."

-------


	5. Chapter 5  The Marauder's Map

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 5**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 9 – Grim Defeat

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was lying in the hospital wing. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, splattered with mud from head to foot, were gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool. Sitting in a chair next to his bed, looking even paler than she'd been in the Chamber of Secrets, was Ginny. She just seemed to be staring blankly in his general direction.

"Harry," said Fred, who looked extremely white under the mud. "How're you feeling?"

Harry turned his attention back to the people gathered around his bed. After finding out that Cedric Diggory got the Snitch, they'd lost the match, and his Nimbus 2000 was destroyed by the Whomping Willow, he looked at Ginny again, who was still staring at him blankly. When Madame Pomphrey came to chase everyone out, which is a habit of hers that Harry would never understand, he asked if Ginny could stay for a few more minutes so he could talk to her alone. She reluctantly allowed it when Harry promised that if she didn't, he'd get up out of his bed and walk up to Gryffindor Tower to talk to her. Secretly, he wondered why she thought it was so horrible for a patient to have company when they're awake.

As soon as they were alone, Harry moved his closest hand to her cheek and said, "Ginny, are you all right? You've been awfully quiet."

This seemed to snap her out of her trance. She glared at him and yelled, "How dare you do that to me! When I saw you fall, I thought I'd have a heart attack! You almost died!" At this moment she starting crying, stood up from her chair, and threw her arms around Harry. She cried on his shoulder for a few minutes, and then looked up into his eyes. "I'm, I'm sorry for yelling at you. It wasn't your fault. It's those bloody dementors! I almost lost you. I was so scared. I thought you were dead when you landed on the ground." She started sobbing uncontrollably again.

He gently dried some of the tears in her eyes with his fingers and said, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, but everything's fine. I hate to say it, but you'll have to go before Madame Pomphrey kicks you out."

She smiled slightly and said, "I guess so."

Harry smiled back and said, "Come visit me tomorrow, Ok."

"Of course, Harry."

"I love you, Ginny."

"I love you, too."

Ginny walked out of the room, and Harry tried to go to sleep.

The next morning, Harry woke up to find Ginny standing by his bedside looking at him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" she said with a smile as soon as Harry's eyes opened.

"Good morning yourself! Have I ever told you how beautiful your hair is?"

Ginny blushed slightly, "Not today."

"Well, then I will! Ginny, your auburn hair looks absolutely gorgeous, as are your brown eyes, your face, and your outfit. I don't think I've seen that outfit before," he said as he observed the light green matching jumper and skirt set with auburn flowers. "The flowers match your hair."

She was now blushing furiously as she said, "You noticed! I'm glad you like it. Mum bought it for me last summer, and I've been saving it for a special occasion."

"It looks very beautiful, but what's the occasion?"

"Well, you um, were almost killed yesterday," she said as her cheeks now matched the flowers on her dress as well as her hair, "and, well, I wanted to be the first thing you saw this morning, and, um, I wanted to look my best for you." She turned her red face toward the floor at this point."

Harry was now blushing. He placed his right hand under her chin and slowly tilted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. "That's the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me, and the best reason I have to recover." He then gave her a quick, gentle kiss. "Thank you."

She smiled as her face started to get back to normal, "Your welcome Harry. Colin said I should give you a singing 'get well' card, but I think you'd hate it."

Harry chuckled and said, "You're probably right."

"Bye the way, Hagrid sent this for you," Ginny said as she pointed out a vase full of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages. Harry laughed out loud upon seeing them. "He gives the strangest gifts. Well, I guess it's the thought that counts."

"Yeah it is. Last summer, he sent me a bunch of rock cakes for my birthday. I threw them away, but I was very touched that he remembered." She looked away for a second upon saying that.

"Those rock cakes are…Hold on! Your birthday was last summer? When?" Harry suddenly was feeling alarmed. He'd had no idea when her birthday was.

"My birthday is August 11th."

"I am so sorry, Ginny! I swear I didn't know! I should've asked! Why didn't Ron tell me? Why didn't you send me a howler August 12th?"

"I figured you must have forgotten. I admit that I felt a little hurt, but I knew you were already miserable with the Dursleys, so I didn't see any reason to make you more miserable. Then when I finally saw you next, I didn't want to spoil the day by starting a fight. It's not that big a deal. I love you, and you love me! That's what's important!"

"That is what's important, and I do love you, but I still feel very bad about this. I promise that I'll find a way to make it up to you!" Harry said as he held her hand.

Ginny smiled and lightly kissed him. "If you insist Harry. Just don't go overboard! I've got to get to breakfast before it's over. I promise that I'll be back later today, Harry."

She turned away from his bed and left him alone to think about not one, but two failures. One was that he lost his first game of Quidditch, and two that he had not done anything for his girlfriend's birthday. After a few minutes, a pair of tall red-haired, twin boys walked into the hospital wing and started toward his bed.

Harry called out to them, "Hey Fred, George! How are you doing?"

Fred said, "We're doing fine. We just finished breakfast…"

"…and we thought we'd see how…" said George.

"…you're doing, and try to…" said Fred.

"…cheer you up," said George.

Harry would never get used to the way they completed each other's sentences. He said, "Well, thanks for dropping by."

George said, "We thought you'd like it,"

"…if we turned Cedric Diggory's…" said Fred.

"…hand into a mallet…" said George.

"…so he couldn't catch…" said Fred.

"…the snitch," finished George.

Harry laughed at this, and then said, "No, don't do anything to Cedric. It wasn't his fault." Then an idea hit Harry. He said, "Fred, George, I need some help, and I think you two are just the people that can help me."

"What do you need?" asked Fred.

Harry looked embarrassed when he said, "I just found out that Ginny had her birthday on August 11th! I didn't know, so I didn't do anything about it."

George said, "We wondered about that."

Harry continued, "She said it was no big deal…"

"No big deal?" said Fred, "We heard her crying from outside her room!"

"I knew it!" said Harry, looking very sad. "I swear I had no idea!"

"No idea?" asked George, looking flabbergasted.

"We must have you confused with someone else then…" said Fred.

"…because we brought the Harry Potter we know to the Burrow last summer…" said George.

"…and he was at our baby sister's birthday party along with the rest of the family," said Fred.

Harry looked horrified! "I am such an idiot! Such a git! Such a prat!"

"Don't forget insensitive, forgetful fool," offered George merrily.

"Or unfeeling, heart-stomper," offered Fred helpfully.

"I know," said Harry with his head hung down. "I know. Anyway, the point is that I want to make it up to her, if I can. I thought if I could get to Hogsmeade and find her some sort of really nice present, it would be a start. Dumbledore said that invisibility cloaks can't hide you from the dementors and the last thing I want to do is pass out while invisible. The only way someone will find me is if they trip over me. You two seem to know more about this castle than Dumbledore himself. Do you think you could help me out?"

Fred and George looked at each other while Harry watched them silently communicating. George finally said, "Possibly, but we're not sure."

"We'll let you know before the next Hogsmeade visit."

A little while after the twins left, Ginny came back carrying two schoolbags, having a hard time at it, walked into the room and dropped them on a chair. Then she walked up to his bedside, and kissed him before saying, "I ate breakfast as fast as I could so I could get back before you got too lonely."

"Thanks Ginny, I missed you," Harry said, trying to be as romantic as possible because of his previous blunder, "You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it. I love you."

Ginny blushed slightly and said, "I love you, too. I wanted to be with you. I brought our homework so we could study together."

"Oh Ginny, you don't have to spend the day here. I know you'd rather be in the common room…"

"I'd rather be with you!" said Ginny defiantly. "I thought my boyfriend would like to spend time with me, but if I was wrong…"

"No, Ginny. You're not wrong! I love spending time with you! I just don't know why you'd want to be with such an insensitive, forgetful git like me!"

"I already told you, I'm not mad about you forgetting my birthday, but I will be if you don't drop it!"

"I realized that last year I was at the Burrow on your birthday. I should have remembered! Even if I didn't know the exact date! You didn't forget my birthday! You are such a better person than me!"

Ginny sighed and said, "Fine! I'm better than you at remembering birthdays, and you're better at slaying basilisks! Can you please drop it?"

"Ok Ginny, whatever makes you happy. But I am gonna make it up to you somehow."

"Fine," said Ginny, "I want to know how you're feeling."

"I'm fine. Madame Pomphrey's only making me stay so that she has someone to torment. Let me see my Transfiguration book, some parchment, and a quill. I have a paper due next class."

"Sure," Ginny said, ruffling through his bag, "Would you also like some ink?"

Harry was released Monday and things got back to normal. A few weeks later, when the next Hogsmeade visit was announced, Harry realized he hadn't heard back from the twins. He'd thought about having Hermione pick something up for him, but he wanted to personally pick out what he'd give Ginny. He didn't know what he'd do now.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry and Ginny bid good-bye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.

"Psst – Harry! Ginny!"

They turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at them from behind a statue of a hump-backed, one-eyed witch.

"What are you doing?" said both Ginny and Harry curiously.

Harry asked, "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you two a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here…"

He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Harry and Ginny followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look at them.

"Early Christmas present to you, sis," he said.

Fred added, "A few weeks ago, you're insensitive, forgetful, boyfriend…" At this, Harry looked down.

"…came begging us to help him make up his blunder of forgetting your birthday…" said George.

"…and taking away some of your happiness." said Fred.

"He wanted us to help him sneak into Hogsmeade…" said George.

"…so he could buy you a gift," said Fred.

Ginny smiled at Harry and said, "That was sweet."

"…but we would never help your boyfriend…" continued George.

"…to break rules like that. What would Mum and Percy think?" said Fred.

"So Ginny," continued George. "We'll help you to go instead…"

"…and if you want to take him along, that's your prerogative."

Fred then produced the Marauder's Map, and the twins explained its use, to show all of Hogwarts and where everyone is.

After explaining the one-eyed-witch shortcut, George looked solemnly at his Ginny and said, "We bequeath this map upon you for posterity, to help insure that there will always be a Weasley who will follow in our footsteps…"

"…causing mayhem, anarchy, and disorder all over Hogwarts…" added Fred.

"When we're gone. We just don't think Ron's up to the job!" said George.

"Well, thanks guys," said Ginny.

"Mind you behave yourselves," said Fred and George together as they turned to leave.

"Just remember Harry," said Fred.

"Even with the map and your invisibility cloak…" said George.

"…we can still find you and make your life miserable…" said Fred.

"…if you hurt our sister," finished George as they left.

"Well Harry," said Ginny.

"Well Ginny," said Harry.

"I guess we should try it out," said Ginny.

"I think we should wear my cloak," said Harry. "We definitely don't want to get caught!"

"That's for sure."

"You wait here, Ginny. I'll be right back."

Within a few minutes, Harry had returned with the cloak, and they took the secret passage that led into the cellar of Honeydukes, thinking about what a wonderfully secluded place the passage was. They got into Honeydukes, keeping the cloak in a schoolbag until it was needed, and surveyed the store, until they noticed a few familiar faces in the crowd.

Upon seeing Ron and Hermione, Harry whispered to Ginny, "Let's get out of here before they see us. I don't think Hermione will be happy about you being here. Besides," Harry said with a grin, "I'd kind of like this to be our little secret." They then got out of that store, made sure no one was watching, and covered themselves with Harry's cloak.

"Sure," said Ginny, winking at him under the cloak, "Where do you want to go to first?"

"First of all," said Harry, "I want you to pick a gift out for yourself, and then I want to find you a few presents that I'll surprise you with on Christmas."

"Harry, you don't have to…" Ginny was interrupted by a brief kiss.

"But I want to."

"Ok Harry," said Ginny, "but I'll be getting you a Christmas present while you're getting mine!"

"If you insist," said Harry with a smirk, "What store do you want to look at first?"

They walked a few stores near Honeydukes (taking off the cloak once they got into an empty corner of the store and putting it back on once they left to avoid being spotted as best they could), and Harry noted the objects that Ginny looked at with wonder, checked out the price tag, and left behind. After three stores, Ginny noticed that Ron and Hermione were finally leaving Honeydukes, so they went back in there.

After looking at several choices, Ginny pointed at a box of Fizzing Whizbees and said, "That's what I'd like for my birthday."

"Ginny, I'll be happy to buy those for you, but that's not enough to spend for your birthday! You'll have to pick more than just that."

"That's all I want," said Ginny.

Harry realized that she didn't want him to spend his money on her, so he decided to go along with that, but make sure to spend more on her secret presents. He smiled at her and said, "Fine, whatever you want."

After that, walked together for a while, exploring places like Zonko's joke shop, until they finally split up for Christmas shopping, Ginny insisting that Harry keep the cloak because he's the one everybody knows, deciding to meet at the Three Broomsticks, a place Ron had mentioned after the first Hogsmeade visit, for butterbeer in an hour. Neither one of them had any trouble, so Harry was invisible standing near the entrance to the Three Broomsticks when Ginny walked toward the door. He whispered, "Ginny, it's me. I'm right behind you." She acted like she didn't hear him, walked inside, ordered two butterbeers, and walked to a table in the back of the room and sat down. She wasn't the least bit surprised when Harry appeared out of thin air near her and sat down.

"Get all your shopping done?" asked Ginny, while opening her bottle.

"Yes, did you?" asked Harry, taking a sip from his bottle.

"Oh yes. What do you think of Hogsmeade?" said Ginny.

"Well, I was…"

"Put the cloak on, Harry!" Ginny interrupted, "Ron and Hermione are here!"

They quickly pulled the invisibility cloak over themselves and their drinks, just before Ron and Hermione walked toward them. Fortunately, they picked a nearby table and not the one Harry and Ginny were seated at. Harry whispered, "Thank God! I thought for sure that they were coming to our table!"

"Me too," Ginny whispered back. "If Hermione accidentally sat on your lap, I'd have had to hex her!"

At that moment, the door opened, and in walked Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. Harry noticed Hermione perform a spell that caused the Christmas tree to hide her and Ron's table while Fudge and company settled down into their table. Harry and Ginny at their table, and Ron and Hermione at their table, all overheard the conversation that revealed that Sirius Black was James Potter's best friend and betrayed him and his family to Voldemort. How poor, innocent, Peter Pettigrew had tried to capture Sirius, ending up being blown to bits. How Sirius was Harry's godfather, and the best man at Harry's parents' wedding. The whole time, Ginny was holding Harry's hand under the cloak. They watched Ron and Hermione look at each other and leave. Harry could swear he heard Hermione ask Ron, "Should we tell Harry?" before they left. Staying under the cloak, Ginny carefully guided a shell-shocked Harry back to the Honeydukes passage.

"When they were about half-way back to Hogwarts, Ginny grabbed Harry's arm and stopped him. She looked in his eyes and said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"NO!" Harry snapped, causing Ginny to flinch, "He's a murderer! He betrayed my parents! I'm gonna kill him!"

Ginny slapped him across the face and shouted, "No you're not! If you do, you'll be just as bad as Black! You're better than that!" By this point Ginny was crying. "Do you think your parents wanted you to become a murderer?"

Harry felt his freshly slapped cheek with his left hand, and then softly spoke to Ginny, "You're right. They wouldn't want me to be a killer. It's just, I just…"

At this moment, Ginny pulled Harry into an embrace, letting him cry on her shoulder. When he was finished, he looked up at her and said, "Um, sorry."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for," said Ginny, whom Harry noticed had also been crying, "A lot of people, like Black, have caused you pain. I'm here to help you get through it. I seem to remember you doing something similar for me when I needed it." She grabbed his hand, said, "Come on," and together, they walked back to Hogwarts.


	6. Chapter 6  The Firebolt

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 6**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 11 – The Firebolt

Harry woke up the next morning to find everybody still in bed. He thought about what he'd learned about Sirius Black and realized that if it weren't for Ginny, he'd have probably had a nightmare. He found himself amazed at how much of a difference that one person was making in his life. He remembered that almost everyone would be leaving for the holidays and was grateful that Ginny, along with Ron and Hermione were all staying with him at Hogwarts. He definitely did not want to spend Christmas alone, and he definitely did want to spend Christmas with Ginny.

The thought of Ginny inspired him to get up, shower, and get downstairs as fast as he could in hopes of seeing her. When he made it downstairs, he wasn't disappointed. Ginny was sitting at a table with Hermione. Both of the girls had serious expressions on their faces and were so engaged in their conversation that neither noticed Harry walking toward the table.

He heard Hermione say, "I just don't know whether or not we should tell…"

"Harry!" interrupted Ginny as she notice him approach.

"Good morning Ginny, Hermione. You're up early."

"So are you," said Ginny. "Hermione was just telling me that…"

"Nothing Harry!" said Hermione, glaring at Ginny, "Absolutely nothing!"

Ginny winked at Harry with an amused look on her face. Harry then realized what they must have been talking about.

"…She and Ron overheard Fudge, Hagrid, McG…" said Ginny.

"Stop Ginny! I thought I could trust you!" yelled a very aggravated Hermione.

Ginny continued, beaming at Harry, infuriating Hermione, "…that Sirius Black…"

"I am never confiding anything in you again!" shouted Hermione, getting up from the table.

Harry, who had been trying to keep a straight face and look curious, started laughing, "It's all right Hermione. Ginny and I were under my cloak at the next table." Then he put on a more serious look, "I know that Sirius Black betrayed my parents."

Hermione's eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "You heard? Are you Ok? How did you? Harry, you shouldn't have sneaked into Hogsmeade. You and Ginny could have gotten in serious trouble! What if Black had been there?"

"He wouldn't have seen me through my cloak, would he have?"

Hermione sighed and said, "I guess not, but you shouldn't have gone. What's more important is how you're doing, Harry."

"I'm alright," said Harry. Hermione gave him an odd look, as though she didn't believe him. "I admit that when I first heard it, I wanted to hunt Black down myself, but Ginny managed to calm me down." He took Ginny's hand in his at that moment.

Hermione smiled at them both and said, "Well, I guess Ginny's an even better influence on you than I thought!"

Harry looked into Ginny's eyes and said, "I don't know what I'd do without her," and kissed her softly.

"Here comes Ron," said Ginny, not long after. "Why don't we do the same thing to Ron that we did to Hermione?"

"You mean pretend that you don't know about Sirius Black and get Ron to make a fool of himself trying to keep me quiet?" said Hermione. Harry and Ginny both nodded. Hermione said, "Sounds like a good idea to me!"

After doing just that to Ron, who afterwards insisted that they explain how they got to Hogsmeade, they went down for breakfast and said goodbye to their friends who were leaving for the holidays. Then they went down to Hagrid's and found out about the hearing. The next few days passed quickly, and before Harry new it, it was Christmas morning, and he was being woken up by Ron throwing his pillow at him.

"Oy! Presents!"

Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, squinting through the semi-darkness to the foot of his bed, where a small heap of parcels had appeared. Harry opened them up to find that he'd gotten a sweater, along with some goodies, from Mrs. Weasley. He was pleased to find that he'd gotten a new pair of Quidditch gloves from Ginny, but what excited him most didn't have a tag to say who it came from. It was a new broom. Not just a new broom, but a Firebolt! He couldn't believe that anyone would give him one of these world-class brooms! While he and Ron were discussing where it came from, Ginny and Hermione came upstairs.

As soon as Ginny saw the broomstick in Harry's hand, her eyes went wide and she asked, "Is that, is that a Firebolt?"

"Yes!" said both Ron and Harry together.

"Who sent it to you?" asked Hermione.

"No idea," said Harry. "There wasn't a card or anything with it."

To his great surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or intrigued by the news. On the contrary, her face, as well as Ginny's, fell, and Hermione bit her lip. She spent the rest of the conversation trying unsuccessfully to convince Harry that the broom could be dangerous, while Ginny kept silently looking at the floor as though unsure what do do." The girls left the dormitory when Crookshanks, whom Hermione had brought in with her, made another attempt on Scabber's life.

There wasn't much Christmas spirit in their group that afternoon. Ron wasn't speaking to Hermione because of Crookshanks, while Hermione and Ginny were eying Harry's broom apprehensively while Harry was examining it. At about noon, they went down to the Great Hall for lunch. Professor Trelawney, the last to arrive, was pleased to join them, changing the number of people dining together from thirteen to fourteen. When Ron, Harry, and Ginny got up to leave, Hermione stayed behind and spoke to Professor McGonagall, who shortly thereafter joined them in the Common Room and confiscated Harry's new broom to have it tested for curses.

As soon as the professor was gone, Ron rounded on Hermione, "What did you go running to McGonagall for?"

Hermione threw her book aside. She was pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly. "Because I thought – and Professor McGonagall agrees with me – that that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!"

"What?" shouted Harry, getting angry, "How could he?"

"Harry," Ginny yelled, "It makes perfect sense!"

"Stay out of this, Ginny!" shouted Ron, "It's none of your business!"

"Then it's none of your business either, dear brother!"

Upon hearing Ginny agree with Hermione, Harry decided to try controlling his temper, at least long enough to hear her out. As calmly as he could, he asked, "Ginny, how does it make perfect sense?"

Ron looked at Harry with disgust, shouted, "I CAN'T believe you're listening to them!" and stormed off.

Ginny looked at Harry and saw that he was struggling with his temper, and put her hands on his. She looked him in the eye and said softly, "Listen Harry, Sirius Black wants to kill you, correct?"

"Yes."

"It's common knowledge that you're on the Quidditch team, correct?"

Harry nodded, "Yes."

"It's common knowledge that your broom was just destroyed, correct?"

Harry shrugged, "I guess."

"It's common knowledge that you're a thirteen-year-old boy who would probably want to try out his new broom immediately, correct?"

"Well, yes. Who wouldn't?"

"And it's common knowledge that a hundred-foot fall from a broom would most likely kill the victim. Am I right?"

Harry nodded, "Yes." He could see where she was going with this.

"So, a good plan to murder you would be to get you to ride on a cursed broomstick. Correct?"

Harry shrugged and said, "I suppose, but that doesn't mean…"

Hermione, deciding it was safe to join the conversation, said, "I know we can't prove it's been cursed, but why should we take that chance? I, for one, don't want to watch you fall from your broom again!" Hermione was starting to cry.

"Neither do I Harry! I nearly died watching that!"

Harry decided to concede. He could see why Hermione did what she did. He said, "I guess you're right Ginny." Then he turned to Hermione and gave her a hug while saying, "You did what you felt was right. I know you only did it because you care about me. You're the best friend I could ever ask for. I hope I haven't ruined your Christmas by acting like a baby over my Firebolt."

Hermione was now crying on his shoulder saying, "No you haven't. Thank you for understanding. I was afraid you wouldn't forgive me. What are we going to do about Ron?"

Ginny said, "He can sulk alone until he's ready to grow up! I'm not gonna let him ruin my holiday!"

They then proceeded to enjoy the rest of Christmas day, playing games, building snowmen, having snowball fights with the twins. Harry apologized for being too preoccupied earlier to thank them for their presents. Then he and Ginny took a walk, and she thanked him very thoroughly for the silver necklace with a heart-shaped ruby that he'd gotten her. After she assured him that the necklace more than made up for him missing her birthday, he produced a set of silver bracelets, one for each of them to wear.

"Harry, that's too much! I can't accept that! It must have cost a fortune! My mum wouldn't let me take something like this. I'm very touched, but you've got to take either the necklace or the bracelet back!"

"No, Ginny. You're worth more to me than all the gold in Gringotts! I know you're uncomfortable with people spending money on you, but you've allowed me to be your boyfriend, and I want to express my love for you. Please don't try to stop me."

"I love you too, Harry, and I guess I'll accept these wonderful gifts that I don't deserve. But honestly Harry, I don't want you to empty out your vault for me. Please don't go overboard like this again."

Harry smiled slyly and said, "You mean like on Valentine's Day?"

"I'm serious, Harry! I'll have a hard enough time getting mum to let me keep these gifts! You don't have to spend a lot of money on me! Just spend time with me."

"Can't I do both?"

When Ginny finally felt that she'd convinced Harry not to go overboard on Valentine's day, they proceeded to dinner, where Ron reluctantly started talking to Hermione, after being reminded that it was Harry's broom that was confiscated, and that Harry is now fine with it. Ron was still sulky, and occasionally gave Harry and Ginny weird looks, muttering something about Harry letting her control him under his breath. Somehow though, Harry decided that even though he really didn't think the broomstick was cursed, Hermione's friendship, not to mention Ginny's love, was a lot more important to him than any broom, even a Firebolt.


	7. Chapter 7  Their First Valentine's Day

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 7 - Their First Valentine's Day**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter15 – The Quidditch Final

Harry woke up very nervous on Monday, February 14th. He was going to spend as much of Valentine's day with Ginny as possible. He hoped she'd like what he got her. He hoped she'd enjoy what he had planned. As much as he hoped it would go well, he was very nervous about it. He remembered the conversation that he'd had with Hermione a few days before. He'd been trying to make peace between Ron and Hermione since Scabbers went missing. Ron believed that Crookshanks ate him, and Harry had to admit that it certainly looked that way.

-

"Hermione," Harry whispered to her in the library.

"What is it, Harry?"

"I'd like to, um, talk to you about, um, Ron," he said nervously, not wanting to get her upset with him.

Hermione glared at Harry. "Until Ron apologizes, I have nothing to say to him, or about him. So if that's what you've come here to talk about, you might as well leave!"

"Look," said Harry, "I know that Ron's being stupid about this, but he's had Scabbers for a long time." Then he added weakly, "I don't know what happened, but there is evidence that Crookshanks…"

"I KNEW YOU WOULD TAKE HIS SIDE!" she yelled, forgetting she was in the library.

"Keep your voice down, and let's leave the library for a few minutes to talk." said Harry.

She got up, leaving her books, and walked out the door, Harry following her. Then she hissed with a mean look in her eyes, "You always take his side!"

"I do not!" Harry yelled back. "I didn't take Ron's side about the firebolt!"

"Only after Ginny talked you out of it!" she hissed back.

"That's right," said Harry, an idea forming in his mind. "She made me see reason, just like I'm trying to make you see reason!"

"Reason? Ron's not being reasonable!"

"No he's not Hermione. He's overreacting as always! But I expected better of you!"

"What are you trying to say?" Hermione asked.

"Let me ask you a few questions. As a cat, is it in Crookshanks' nature to hunt rats?"

"Well, yes, but…" Hermione answered with a concerned look in her face.

"Has Crookshanks chased Scabbers many times this year?"

"I guess so."

"Did Ron find blood where Scabbers was supposed to be?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean…"

"Have you pretty much let Crookshanks go wherever he pleases, so that you don't even know where he is right now?"

"Well, I expect he's outside looking for…"

"Rats? As I said, Ron's overreacting to this, but isn't it reasonable that Ron suspects Crookshanks of acting like a cat?"

With a defeated look in her eyes, Hermione softly said, "I guess so."

"And aren't you being unreasonable by not admitting that it's possible?"

"Y, Yes."

"And as the more mature and intelligent one, shouldn't you at least try to make peace with Ron by admitting that it's possible that he's right about Crookshanks?"

"All right, Harry," she said with her hands raised in defeat. "I'll talk to Ron. In the meantime, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh? What's that?" Harry knew she was changing the subject, but didn't mind. He had made his point.

"Ginny."

"What about her?"

"What are you going to do for Valentine's day?"

"Well, I'll have to buy her something nice. Any suggestions?"

"Well," Hermione said nervously, "I don't know if it's my place to say it, but you shouldn't spend a lot of money on her like you did on Christmas."

"I know she said I went overboard, but I, I love her and want to buy her nice things! Is that wrong?" he said defensively.

"I understand Harry, really I do. And it's good that you want to buy her nice things, but when you do, it makes her feel bad."

Harry looked livid. He hissed, "Feel bad? How?"

"Well," said Hermione, looking worried, "Seeing you spend that much money reminds her that she doesn't have much to spend on you. It reminds her that she's poor, and makes her feel like she's not good enough for you."

"Not good enough for me?" asked Harry, his face red with anger, "Not good enough! That's a load of rubbish! I don't love her for her money! She doesn't have to buy me a bloody thing and I'll still love her!"

"Calm down, Harry," said Hermione, "I know you love her, and so does she! I just want to suggest that instead of spending a lot of money on her, you do something more, um, romantic."

"Like what?"

"I don't know," said Hermione unsurely. Then, with a triumphant look in her face, she said, "It's best if you think of it anyway!"

"Fine," said Harry. "I think I'm still gonna need to visit Hogsmeade."

"No Harry!" said Hermione. "After Sirius almost killed Ron, how can you even think…"

"How am I going to get Ginny a gift if I don't go there?"

"I don't know, but what if he sees you?" reasoned Hermione.

"Under my invisibility cloak?" said Harry.

"Fine! Just stay long enough to get your gift!"

-

On Saturday morning, February 12th, Harry told Ginny that he was sneaking off to Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione. When she said she wanted to join him, he looked nervous, so she said, "Ok Harry. I'll leave you alone to buy my present, but please don't go overboard! The only reason my mother let me keep my Christmas presents was because I said it would hurt your feelings if I gave them back."

"I promise. I'll see you later, Ginny. I love you," Harry answered and then kissed her lightly.

"I love you too, Harry! I'll be watching for you on my map. Be careful!"

Harry then departed before they started snogging, because he knew he'd never be able to tear himself away. He made it into Hogsmeade without too much trouble, and quickly found a few sweets at Honeydukes that he thought were appropriate and had Hermione purchase them while he stayed under the cloak. He noticed that Ron and Hermione seemed to be speaking to each other again. Although it seemed there was still trouble between them, it was not nearly as bad as before. He made a mental note to ask Hermione about it later. They stopped by a few other shops, one of which sold flowers. He bought a solitary rose for Ginny, and a carnation for Hermione, who thanked him while holding both flowers because he didn't want to mess up the rose under his cloak.

When Harry gave Hermione the carnation, Ron asked, "Why are you giving her a flower? You're dating my sister!"

"Honestly Ronald," said Hermione, exasperated, "Just because you can't be thoughtful doesn't mean Harry can't! I know he's in love with Ginny! He's just doing something nice for me!" Then she turned toward Harry's voice and said, "Thank you Harry!"

Harry said, "You're welcome Hermione. I just wanted to thank you for all the help you've given me, both in schoolwork and advice with Ginny." Then Harry said, "Ron, I'm giving it to Hermione as a friend," said Harry, and then added, "Would you like a flower, too?"

"No. Never mind!" said Ron as he gave a dirty look in Harry's general direction.

Harry should've left at that point, but he didn't. They went on from there visiting other shops, until they wound up running into Malfoy and his friends while looking at the Shrieking Shack. Harry, under his invisibility cloak, was having a lot of fun giving them a lesson until his cloak slipped a little and exposed his head to Malfoy, who ran off. Harry went back to the castle through the secret passage as fast as he could, leaving the cloak inside a shadowy corner of the passage so he wouldn't be found with it. He reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and hoisted himself out; the hump closed, and just as Harry jumped out from behind the statue, he heard quick footsteps approaching.

It was Snape. He approached Harry at a swift walk, his black robes swishing, then stopped in front of him.

"So," he said.

There was a look of suppressed triumph about him. Harry tried to look innocent, all too aware of his sweaty face.

"Come with me, Potter," said Snape.

"Harry!" came Ginny's voice from nearby, "Why didn't you wait up?" She appeared from inside a classroom. Harry looked at her in confusion, and she managed to wink at him before Snape saw her face. Harry put a neutral expression on his face. She then said, "Hello Professor Snape."

"Miss Weasley, what are you doing here?" asked Snape, looking very angry.

"I was with Harry."

"When?"

"All day, sir. Is something wrong?" said Ginny with a look of pure innocence on her face. Harry was nodding the whole time she was speaking.

"What were you doing here?" asked Snape, with venom in his voice.

Ginny blushed and looked toward the floor. She said, "Well professor, we were in a nearby classroom, alone, and we were…"

"Silence!" shouted Snape, "You were not together!"

"Sir," said Ginny defiantly, "I could show you my…"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

"Twenty," both Harry and Ginny asked.

"Each! Come with me. Mr. Malfoy has an interesting story to tell."

They proceeded to follow Snape down to the dungeons, where they feigned innocence as they were told Malfoy's story. Snape had them empty out their pockets. Harry had a bag from both Honeydukes and Zonko's while Ginny had a 'spare bit of old parchment' that was confiscated and insulted Snape. The parchment was given to Professor Lupin to examine, and at that moment Ron came running, proclaiming that he'd given Harry his packages ages ago.

"Well!" said Lupin, clapping his hands together and looking around cheerfully. "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes. "Harry, Ron, Ginny, come with me, I'd like your opinion on a new creature I've just acquired."

After giving them a lecture on how irresponsible they were, professor Lupin let them leave, though he kept the map. Harry thanked both Ginny and Ron for covering for him, and went to find Hermione, to get the rose from her, so he could prepare for Valentine's Day.

-

He got out of bed and took extra care preparing himself for the big day. He wished that Valentine's Day had fallen on the weekend, but it didn't. It fell on a Monday. He walked down the stairs to the common room, and saw Ginny standing there alone, waiting for him. He walked up to her, took her hand, said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Ginny!" kissed her, and said, "I love you!"

Ginny blushed and said, "I love you, Harry. Happy Valentine's Day!"

Harry looked at the ground, suddenly nervous about his plans, and said, "Um, Ginny, well, could you make sure to meet me here at 5:30? I'd kind of like to spend as much time with you today as I can."

"Ginny smiled and said, "Of course, Harry. Who else would I want to be with on Valentine's Day?" and she winked at him.

"I know I don't want to spend it with Snape, but I've got his class in a few hours. I guess we should get down to breakfast," said Harry.

Hand in hand, they made their way down to the Great Hall, where they found heart-shaped pancakes, along with various other foods made special for the holiday. After a few minutes, the mail came, and Hedwig was flying toward the Gryffindor table carrying a package. Ginny was surprised that Hedwig came to her instead of Harry. She turned to him as he said, "Open it," with a neutral expression.

She untied the package from Hedwig's leg and gave her a piece of sausage before she flew away. She opened the small package and out jumped a chocolate frog. Using reflexes developed while competing with six older brothers for enchanted sweets, she caught it and bit off its head. Then she noticed a small note at the bottom of the package. It said, "Her eyes are as brown as a chocolate frog." She slapped him lightly on the shoulder and started blushing.

"What?" asked Harry, smiling broadly, "Chocolate frogs are better than fresh pickled toads, aren't they?"

"You're never gonna let me live that down, aren't you?" she said in mock outrage, before bursting out laughing.

"I'm never gonna let either one of us forget that you sent me a Valentine's Day card while I still too stupid to see how wonderful you are," Harry answered with a small smile.

"Well," said Ginny, "thank you for the chocolate frog," and she kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for being my girlfriend," Harry said quickly, earning another kiss from Ginny, this time on the lips.

Not long after that, they had to part and go to their various classes. While Harry was walking toward the Great Hall for lunch, he heard a female voice calling his name. He turned to see the Ravenclaw seeker, a lovely asian girl named Cho Chang. He said, "Hi Cho."

She looked a little nervous as she said, "Hey Harry, I never got a chance to tell you what a great job you did in the last match! I've never played against a better seeker."

Harry blushed lightly and said, "You're not so bad yourself. I doubt I'd have gotten the snitch without my new broom."

"That Firebolt was amazing! How'd you get that broom? I never expected someone to get that just for a school team," she said.

"That's an interesting question. It arrived for me at Christmas with no note of any kind," said Harry.

"Isn't that strange? I heard a rumor that Sirius Black is supposed to be after you."

"That's what I've been told. When it arrived, my best friend Hermione and my girlfriend Ginny talked me into letting it get checked out for any curses or whatever that may have been put on it. Nothing was found. I don't know who sent it. Maybe it was some rich Gryffindor fan who wanted to make sure I got the snitch." Cho looked to the ground for a second when Harry said the word, "girlfriend," but then looked back at his face with an odd expression.

"So, um, you're going out with that second-year redhead, Ginny, um, Weasley, right?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "In fact, I'd better get to the Great Hall. She's probably there already saving me a seat."

"Oh, um, right," said Cho, looking uncomfortable, "I'd better be going, too." With that said, she took off walking fast the opposite direction of the Great Hall.

Harry hurried toward the Great Hall, where he saw that Ginny was saving him a seat. Just as he sat down, Hedwig flew back into the hall, holding a rose in her beak, with a note tied to her leg. Ginny blushed upon seeing the rose, and gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek before Hedwig landed in front of her. Ginny took the rose and sniffed it before untying the note, which read, Her hair is as red as her lips that I snog," causing her cheeks to match her hair very well.

Harry blushed too, as he said, "I would've put 'red as a rose,' but it didn't rhyme with 'frog.' Besides, I didn't think you wanted a set of lips delivered to the lunch table."

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Maybe I do want lips delivered to me here." Harry took that as an invitation and delivered his lips to hers.

They didn't break apart for several minutes until Ron tapped Harry on the shoulder and said with a smirk on his face, "I know she's your girlfriend, and it's Valentine's Day, but you don't have to snog in the middle of lunch. Some of us are trying to eat here!"

Harry looked around and noticed many eyes on him, including Cho Chang's, which for some reason appeared on the verge of tears. He briefly wondered what was bothering her before turning back to Ginny and saying, "Happy Valentine's Day."

"You're certainly making it a Happy Valentine's Day for me!" said Ginny, starting to get teary-eyed.

"You make every day happy for me!" said Harry, looking deep into her eyes, which immediately started crying. She put her arms around him, and began snogging him, before Ron interrupted them again. "Hey Ron," said Harry, "Maybe it's time we found you a snogging partner. Maybe then you'd stop interrupting me." At this statement Ron went pink, but said nothing.

"Yeah," said Ginny, with a thoughtful look on her face. She smiled, leaned towards her brother, and whispered, "What about Hermione?"

At this statement Ron's ears, face, and neck all went 'Valentine's day' red. He whispered back, "Um, I, um, don't, well, y'know, fancy her. Um, uh, even, um, if I did, um, which I don't, I'm sure she, um, doesn't, um, fancy me. Don't you think?"

Before Harry could answer, he noticed Cho Chang was no longer crying, but instead was glaring daggers at Ginny from the Ravenclaw table. Harry turned to Ginny and asked, "Have you ever met Cho Chang?"

She looked confused at Harry's abrupt change of topic and said, "No. Why?"

"She's glaring at you like she wants to kill you."

Ginny's eyes went wide and she glanced toward Cho, just in time to see her look away. Ginny said, "I wonder what her problem is," and decided to start eating lunch.

"She's been acting strange since before lunch."

Ginny dropped her fork and said, "Before lunch?"

"Yes," said Harry, "She stopped me in the hall, acting nervous, and complimented how I did in the last match. When I told her I had to meet you here, she seemed even more nervous and practically ran away. When Ron interrupted us the first time, she was one of the people watching us. She looked like she wanted to cry. Something must be bothering her. I wonder what it is."

Ginny had a mixture of amusement and concern on her face when she said, "I think I know her problem. She fancies a guy who already has a girlfriend."

"Really?" said Harry. "I wonder who the bloke is."

Ginny looked pleadingly at Harry and asked, "Please tell me you're not that thick! She was nervous talking to you! She's glaring at me!"

Harry looked shocked. He said, "Are you saying she fancies me? That's impossible! She's a year older than me! I mean…"

"You're a year older than me and you fancy me!" said Ginny.

"I do more than fancy you Ginny! I love you!" said Harry. Then he looked into her eyes and said, "I'm afraid Cho's in for a disappointment."

"I've got a feeling that she isn't going to give up that easily," said Ginny.

"Maybe not, but I'm not gonna let her ruin our Valentine's Day!" said Harry, before kissing Ginny again.

The day went on, and soon they found themselves back in the Great Hall for dinner, and Hedwig was carrying another package for Ginny. It was an assortment of Zonko's joke products. The note said, "I'm so glad she's mine! She's really divine!"

"I am not divine!" said Ginny, chuckling.

"Neither am I!" answered Harry, also chuckling. "But no angel could possibly be as beautiful as you!"

Ginny blushed and said, "Stop it. I'm not as beautiful as all that, and I know it!"

"You are to me," said Harry, with a serious expression on his face.

"And you are all that and more to me, Harry!" said Ginny, looking him in the eyes.

Harry said seriously, "Really? You really do think that my eyes are as green as a…ouch!"

Ginny slapped his shoulder lightly while he was teasing her. She said, "Normally, when you're not irritating me, I think you're the most amazing boy I've ever met. Not because of your fame, but because of how much you really care about people. Not only that but how brave and selfless you are! Not to mention those eyes that make me go weak at the knees and that hair I just want to run my fingers through! Even if my poem wasn't as complementary as I wanted it, I really do love your eyes and hair!"

"Thank you, but I think I love your eyes and hair more than you love mine!"

Ginny blushed at that statement and said, "Impossible! Besides I've loved yours longer!

Harry began eating his dinner as fast as he could, leaving at 5:15, reminding Ginny to be in the common room at exactly 5:30.

When she arrived, she found Harry sitting on a chair facing the door, holding a small wrapped package, and looking nervous. Upon seeing her enter, he got up, walked up to her, and kissed her briefly. When they broke apart, Harry tried to hand her his package, but she stopped him and said, "I've got to run upstairs and get my present before I take one more thing from you," and ran to her dorm. Within three minutes she was back with a beautifully wrapped package in her hands. She handed it to Harry and nervously said, "Open it. I hope you like it."

He tore the wrapping paper off and found a clear box with a gold pin with about a half-inch diameter that was the shape of a snitch. A note inside the box said, "This pin has been charmed so that the wearer is protected from Legilimency.

"It's a nice pin, but what's Legilimency?" asked Harry.

"It's the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person's mind by looking directly into their eyes. The defense against it is called Occlumency," answered Ginny, reminding Harry of Hermione. "I think Snape and Dumbledore can do it to know if you're lying to them."

"I always felt like they could see right through me! How did you learn about it?" Harry asked.

Ginny looked down at the ground and said, "Um, even at sixteen, um, Tom was an expert at it." She then cleared her throat and said, "I figured that, given your relationship with Snape, you might want to stop him from reading your mind."

"Where'd you get it?" asked Harry.

"A mail order store. You pick out the pin and the charm from a list. I thought you'd like the snitch."

"I do! Thank you! This is a very thoughtful gift! I really do love it! I'm just sorry that it made you think about Tom again. I didn't realize that you kept some of his knowledge."

"Yes," she said with a half smile, "Whatever else he was, he was brilliant. My grades have actually improved since it happened. This summer, while in the garden at home, I found out that I'm still a Parselmouth when I startled a garden snake, though I'd like to keep that just between us. I obviously got a lot of negative results from the experience, but a little good came from it." She then smiled and added, "I apparently got your attention from it!"

Harry smiled and said, "I can think of better ways to get my attention, but I'm glad that you can talk about your experience." Harry sighed and said, "You really are amazing! Anyway, I'd like you to open my gift now. It's not much, but I hope you like it."

"If it's from you, I know I'll like it. I just hope you didn't spend too much on me. If you did, I'll snog you senseless and then make you take it back."

As Ginny took her present from him and began opening it, Harry said, "Maybe I should've spent too much. It sounds like it would have been worth it!"

"I didn't say I won't snog you senseless otherwise," said Ginny, while still opening her gift. "It's just…When was this taken?" She was referring to the photo of the two of them together that was in a frame just like the one that came with the photo she gave him for his birthday. There was also a note spello-taped to the glass over the picture. It said, "My heart, to this girl belongs!" and had an arrow pointing at Ginny in the photograph. There was also a piece of parchment in the package that contained the whole poem,

Her eyes are as brown as a chocolate frog

Her hair is as red as her lips that I snog

I'm so glad she's mine, she's really divine

My heart, to this girl belongs!

"I'm not exactly sure. Last week, I had Colin follow us around with a camera. I picked out my favorite photo."

"Does he still have the rest of the pictures? I'd like to see the rest, maybe use them as wallpaper in my room!" said Ginny with a smirk.

"Ha Ha. If you do want to see his pictures, I'm sure he's still got them, but I hope you like the picture I chose!" said Harry.

"I do, believe me Harry, I love it. Thank you. Now for your other gift."

Harry said, "What other gif…" and Ginny proceeded to snog him senseless.

-

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	8. Chapter 8 Cho's Assault

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 8 – Cho's Assault**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 15 – The Quidditch Final

Harry woke up on the last day of classes before the Easter holiday feeling very well rested and happy, despite the fact that he had a few tests that day. He noticed that no one was left in his room, which meant he overslept. He quickly showered and dressed, then headed for the common room, then practically ran toward the Great Hall, hoping he hadn't missed breakfast. Before he got there, he heard Cho Chang's voice calling out, "Harry!"

He turned around and saw her walking confidently toward him. Remembering what Ginny had said about her fancying him, he got nervous. He said, "Um, hi Cho. What do you want?"

She smiled as she stood face to face with him, his back against a wall. She said in a seductive voice, "I want to know what a handsome, brave, famous, intelligent man like yourself sees in that tiny redhead, when you could have so much more?" At that moment, she planted her lips firmly on his, pushing his head against the wall.

Harry heard Ginny's voice scream, "What?" and used his hands to push Cho's face away from his and looked around, but couldn't see Ginny anywhere.

He screamed at Cho, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" and ran off, pushing her away in the process. He didn't notice Cho's angry expression as he ran toward the Great Hall, hoping Ginny was there.

When he got there, he didn't see Ginny, but he saw Ron with an angry look walking straight towards him, with his fists clenched. He nervously said, "Hey Ron. Have you seen Ginny?"

"YEAH HARRY! I saw Ginny! She'd gotten some pictures of you guys from Colin, and went looking for you so she could show them. When she came back, she was crying and angry, then grabbed her books and ran out of here! Before she was gone, I asked her what was wrong, and all she could say was, 'Harry, Cho, kissing!' Now I've gone along with you dating her Harry, but if you've been cheating on her, best mate or not, I'll…"

"I swear I haven't been cheating on her Ron! Cho cornered me in the hall and kissed me! Ginny saw and ran off before I pushed Cho away, and I swear I pushed her away! I need to talk to Ginny! Where is she?"

Ron gave Harry a sympathetic look and said, "She's probably gone to her first class, Harry. They start in ten minutes. It's a good thing, too. It'll give her a little time to cool off. The way she looked a minute ago, she'd probably hex you!"

Harry went to his first class, all thoughts of breakfast gone. He forced himself to concentrate on his tests to make it through his classes until lunch. He slowly approached the Great Hall, hoping Ginny would get there first. He was right. He saw Ginny sitting alone, so he approached her from behind and said, "Um, Ginny, may I sit down?"

She stood up and faced him with the meanest face he'd ever seen and shouted, "I'M SURE THERE'S A SEAT BY CHO AT THE RAVENCLAW TABLE! OR BETTER YET, SLYTHERIN – THAT'S WHERE YOU BELONG!" Tears began escaping her eyes as she screamed, "I never thought you'd do this to me! I loved you! HOW COULD YOU!" At that moment, she pulled out her wand, pointed it at Harry, muttered a spell he'd never heard before, and turned to walk out of the Great Hall. He tried to stop her, but he felt a weird sensation as his boogers came out of his nose, formed into bat-like shapes, and began attacking him. Grossed out and confused, he couldn't do anything but close his eyes and guard his face with his hands until the bat-bogies disappeared. Opening his eyes and looking around the hall, he noticed all the Slytherins laughing at him, along with many other people from all the other houses, including Cho Chang.

Feeling miserable and defeated, but still hungry, he sat down where Ginny had been a few minutes before. He slowly ate for a few minutes, before Hermione came and joined him. She said, "Ron told me what happened. Ginny won't listen to either of us when we've tried to talk to her. She asked Ron why he hasn't beaten you up yet."

"Well, judging by what just happened, she obviously won't talk to me, either!" hissed Harry.

"Look Harry, I know you're upset, but don't take it out on me! I'm trying to help."

Harry put his head in his hands and said, "I'm sorry. You're right. I just don't know what to do. I love her! Why won't she at least let me explain?"

"I know you love her, but you've got to understand her point of view. In her mind, she has seen proof positive that you're in love with Cho. She is hurt and thinks everything you ever said about loving her is a lie. She won't believe anything you say unless she hears it from Cho, too."

Harry looked appalled at this suggestion. "You want me to try to get Cho to talk to Ginny? I don't ever want to speak to her again, let alone ask her for a favor! She obviously wanted to break us up! Why would she help us get back together?"

Hermione looked at him seriously, while putting her hand on his. She said, "It's up to you. If Ginny's not important enough to talk…"

Harry sighed and said, "Fine! I'll try! Would you please find Ginny and bring her here while I talk to Cho?" Hermione nodded while Harry got up and walked toward the Ravenclaw table where Cho was sitting. She looked up at him and smiled when he said, "Cho, can I talk to you?"

"Of course, Harry" she said, apparently oblivious to the dirty look he was giving her." They walked into the hall and she said, "I guess you've finally come to your senses."

Harry yelled, "If you think I want to date you, you're wrong! I am in love with Ginny, and now thanks to your little stunt today, she thinks I'm cheating on her, so she won't speak to me! You're gonna tell her the truth!"

"I will not!" yelled Cho, glaring defiantly at Harry.

Harry smiled and said, "You will or I'll tell everyone you're the worst kisser in the school!"

Cho looked horrified! She said, "You wouldn't?"

"After what you've just done to me, what do you think?"

She sighed, "You would. Fine, I'll tell her!"

Harry grabbed Cho by the arm and dragged her to the Great Hall, where he saw Hermione dragging Ginny in through another door. When Ginny saw him, she tried to make a break for it, but Hermione held her arm too tightly. Harry dragged Cho over by Ginny. Both Cho and Ginny were looking around, avoiding making eye contact with anybody. Harry began speaking. He said, "Ginny, I know you don't believe me right now because of what you saw, but I love you, and right now I can't stand Cho! I brought her here to tell you what happened this morning, and I want you to listen!" Then he turned to Cho and said, "Tell Ginny the truth!"

Cho took a deep breath and said, "Fine, with the way you've been yelling and dragging me around, I don't know what I ever saw in you! Ginny, this morning I cornered Harry and pretty much forced myself on him! He pushed me away and yelled at me, then he went looking for you! He's obviously too blind to see your undeveloped top, not to mention your second-hand robes and books, but I…"

"Get out of here, Cho!" Harry said as he released her.

"Fine! You deserve each other!" said Cho, as she walked away proudly.

"Harry," came Ginny's voice, sounding very weak. Harry looked to see her head facing the floor. He vaguely noticed Hermione slip away.

He thought about gloating, but then realized that it was more important to get her back than make her squirm. He said in a calm, loving, "Ginny, if I saw you kissing some other guy, I'd do the same thing you did, after beating him up. I understand. You don't have to apologize for being mad at me. I just wish you would have let me tell you my side of it."

Ginny was now crying and said, "I love you, Harry. I should've known there was an explanation. It's just when I saw…"

"I already said I understand, and you've got nothing to apologize for. I love you, and only you!"

She wrapped her arms around him and said, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Harry laughed and said, "I don't know what you're being punished for, but it must have been awful."

"Ha ha. Seriously Harry, you're being too good to me! I hexed you for no good reason! If our situation was reversed, I'd be making you grovel and beg for forgiveness. Why aren't you doing that to me?"

Harry took her hands in his, looked her straight in the eye, and said, "I just endured a half day without you, and I don't want to risk having to endure another one just because of my pride. Besides, I'm kind of in a hurry to make up. Of course, if you'd rather argue…"

"Never mind," said Ginny, now smiling and dragging Harry by the arm. "We have a few minutes before classes begin and I know this great broom closet nearby that I'd like to show you!"

-

Please review.


	9. Chapter 9 Memories

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. 

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 9 – Memories**

Starts in …  
…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 15 – The Quidditch Final

Harry woke up the day after winning the Quidditch Cup elated. It was Sunday, so there were no classes, so he was looking forward to spending a glorious day with Ginny. He showered quickly and got dressed. He descended the stairs quickly, looked around the common room, and saw Ginny sitting by the fireplace with her back to him. He snuck up behind her and put his arms around her, only to have them shoved back down and hear her say, "Leave me alone!"

With a puzzled look on his face, he racked his brain trying to figure out what he'd done wrong. When he couldn't think of anything, He walked around to stand between Ginny and the fire. He looked at her eyes, and could see by how red they were that she'd been crying. He squatted down in front of her and slowly took her hand in his. He looked her in the eyes and asked, "What's wrong, Ginny?"

She took a deep breath and said, "It's nothing, Harry. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's not your fault. It's just…Never mind, it's stupid!" She put on a fake smile and said in a cheerful tone, "Good morning love!"

Harry wasn't fooled. "Apparently, you don't feel that it's a good morning. I'll ask you again, what's wrong Ginny?"

Her face fell back into a frown. "It's stupid. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Harry smiled and said, "Are you gonna make me stay like this all morning before you tell me the truth? Squatting down is actually uncomfortable after a few minutes. Whatever is bothering you is obviously important to you, so I don't think it's stupid. Please, let me help."

Ginny sighed and said, "Do you know what the date is?"

"Yeah, it's May 29th, why…Oh." He straightened up and put his hands gently on her shoulders. "Do you want to talk about it here or outside?"

She looked down at the floor and said, "What makes you think I want to talk about it? It's been a year today since the Chamber and I'm a little, er, upset about it. I'm fine, really."

He gently lifted her head back up and looked into her eyes. "Do you honestly think you're fooling me? I want to help you. I love you."

She smiled slightly and conceded defeat. "Outside." She grabbed one of his hands, got up out of the chair, and they started walking silently toward their favorite spot near the lake. Once they'd sat down she began, "I had another nightmare about it. This time I dreamed of waking up in the chamber to find Riddle alive and you lying dead next to me. He said that since he killed you, he could keep me alive as his slave. I woke up at about 3 a.m. crying and decided to come downstairs." She stared crying again and Harry pulled her into a hug that lasted several minutes while she cried on his shoulder. Harry allowed her as much time as she needed. When she finally pulled back, she looked him in the yes and said, "Er, I have a strange request I want to ask you."

"Anything."

She looked extremely nervous as she said, "Well, I'd like you to, er, come with me into the Chamber of Secrets. I think seeing that place again will help me find some closure."

Harry didn't know what to do. "Er, do you really think that's a good idea?"

Ginny got the determined look in her eyes that Harry was so familiar with and said defiantly, "I'm going. If I have to, I'll go alone, but I'd much rather go with you."

Harry knew there would be no changing her mind, and he definitely didn't want her going down there alone, so he accepted the fact that she'd won. "When do you want to go?"

"Now," Ginny said, with a triumphant smile on her face.

"We should first get my Firebolt so we can ride it out of there."

They went back to Gryffindor Tower, got Harry's broom, and went to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Fortunately, she apparently wasn't there. Harry walked up to the appropriate faucet and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Instead of answering, Ginny said, "Open up," in Parseltongue, and the sink moved apart, revealing the entrance. Ginny immediately jumped into it, and Harry quickly followed, holding tightly to his Firebolt.

After rushing down the slimy, dark slide, they both got up and Ginny grabbed his hand. Harry put his broom under his shoulder, pulled out his wand, and said, "Lumos," causing it to light up. Ginny immediately did the same, doubling the light in the room. They proceeded forward, their footsteps slapping loudly on the wet floor. The tunnel they were in was just as dark as Harry remembered, and when the sound of their footsteps changed to crunching, Harry wasn't surprised.

Ginny said, "Ew. I forgot about the bones on the floor.

Harry tightened his grip on her hand. "There's nothing down here that can hurt you anymore." Then he got an idea. "If you want Ginny, we can ride the broom instead of step on these bones.

"I'd like that."

They mounted the Firebolt with Harry behind Ginny, his arms wrapped around her waist. She was holding both lit wands in front of her like headlights. They quickly came across the remains of the snakeskin and the cave in Professor Lockhart had caused. There was just enough room for them to fly past the rocks on the ground that Ron had cleared out a year earlier. Ginny said, "You never told me what caused the cave-in." After Harry explained what Lockhart had done, she said, "That fraud! That bloody coward! That evil git! I hope he never gets out of St. Mungo's!"

"St. Mungo's?" asked Harry.

"Yes. That's the hospital they sent him to," said Ginny. "I thought he was hurt trying to help me. I even sent him a get-well card." Harry chuckled at that, and soon she joined in. They were still laughing when they reached the solid wall on which two entwined serpents were carved. Ginny hissed, "Open," in the language only she, Harry, and Voldemort could speak. The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and Harry and Ginny, still on a broomstick, flew inside.

They quickly flew past the pillars and came to the spot where Harry had found Ginny a year ago. They dismounted the broom, and Ginny handed Harry his wand.

Ginny knelt on the floor, putting her hands where she had awoken the year before, and started trembling slightly. "This, this is the spot where you found me." Tears were now starting to fall from her eyes. "There's the remains of the basilisk," she said pointing at a smelly, decomposing snake."

"Uh-huh. Here's the tooth I stuck through the diary," said Harry, picking up the object he had discarded long ago.

"Tooth?" asked Ginny. She had stopped crying, and was now curious.

"Yes," asked Harry, looking confused, "Didn't you know?"

"I don't know anything that happened down here until I woke up. If you wouldn't mind, would you please tell me what happened when you got here?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I never did tell you about it, did I? I guess it's about time. You may be disappointed in your hero after I tell you, though." He then told her the whole story, starting with finding her lying face down on the floor, ending with her waking up. He left nothing out.

Ginny remained silent, listening intently to the ordeal Harry had gone through for her. Finally, she spoke. "How could I be disappointed in you after that? You really were the brave hero slaying the monster to save the damsel in distress!"

"I was just lucky Fawkes came to help. I don't even know how to fight with a sword. I was just lucky to get the basilisk. And even then I would've died if Fawkes didn't heal me with her tears."

Ginny started crying again. "I know I put you in terrible danger, and I'm so sorry about it, but you were brilliant! Don't let anyone tell you differently. How many second-years would've even tried to save me while the defense teacher was cowering in fear? Can you picture Colin slaying the basilisk? You like to think you're an average kid, but you're not. If you hadn't come to Hogwarts, I would've died here, and V,Voldemort would have returned that day."

Harry hugged her yet again. "Well anyway, Voldemort did not return, and thankfully, nobody died." When she'd stopped crying again, Harry said, "Do you think we've been here long enough, or do you want to stay for a little while longer."

She smiled slightly. "I guess I've seen enough of this place, but I want to keep the tooth."

"Why?" asked Harry, clearly confused.

"I want to keep it on my nightstand as a reminder that Riddle is dead, and this is the weapon that killed him." She took the tooth from Harry, and put it in her pocket. They then mounted Harry's Firebolt and flew out of the Chamber, only dismounting when they came out in the bathroom, where they found Hermione, looking depressed, talking with Moaning Myrtle about death. Hermione's face lit up immediately when she saw them, and Myrtle left in frustration. Ginny said, "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

Hermione frowned and said, "When I couldn't find you two anywhere else, and realized the date, I had a feeling you went to the Chamber. I'm just not entirely sure why you would want to go down there. I'd think you'd want to avoid this place at all costs."

"Avoiding it doesn't stop me from thinking about it, but facing it stops me from fearing it. I think this helped me. I told Harry I was going down there with or without him, so naturally, being the hero that he is, he came with me. I even got him to tell me how he bravely slew the basilisk…"

"I never said…"

"…in his own humble way, I'm sure. He seems obsessed with proving he's not a hero," said Hermione. Both girls giggled as Harry's face went red. Hermione then looked them over and performed a cleaning charm on both of them before they left the bathroom.

They found Ron in the common room, playing chess with a frustrated-looking Neville. Ron said, "There you guys are. Where've you been all day, hiding in a broom closet snogging? Harry, what've you got your Firebolt for? If you were going flying, why didn't you invite me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "They just wanted a little time together, considering what day this is."

Ron said, "Oh yeah. Today's the day after we won the Quidditch Cup! I guess you two wanted to celebrate privately."

"That's it, Ron," said Ginny, walking up to her dorm to put the basilisk tooth away.

"Can't get anything past you," said Harry. "I've got to put my broom away."

-

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	10. Chapter 10 Just in Time

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 10 – Just in Time**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 16 - Professor Trelawney's Prediction

Harry woke up early on the last day of his exams a bit nervous about them, but more nervous about what else this day had in store. He was secretly glad that Ginny had remembered the Chamber anniversary, because he knew that wasn't far away from their anniversary of becoming a couple. He'd asked Hermione about it, who provided the information after giving him a small speech about boys never remembering things. Their anniversary was today, and he was determined that Ginny would enjoy every part of this day (except maybe her exams). He quickly got ready and was in the common room sitting on a chair facing the stairs to the girls' dormitory before anyone else had woken up. While he waited for Ginny, he was looking over his DADA textbook, since that was his first test of the day. Lupin had said it would be an obstacle course, which scared Neville but excited Harry. He thought it sounded like fun. As other students began filling up the common room, he closed his book and started watching the girls' staircase.

When he finally saw Ginny, followed closely by Hermione, begin descending those stairs, he got up and walked to the bottom of the stairs to greet Ginny. He'd gone over what he would do in his head at least fifty times, so he didn't have any problems doing it. As soon as she got to the bottom of the stairs, Harry kissed Ginny lightly. He took her hand and guided her toward a sofa while saying, "Good morning. Isn't it a beautiful day? It's the one year anniversary of the best decision I ever made!"

She blushed. "You remembered!"

"How could I forget?" He noticed Hermione rolled her eyes at this statement. "I can't tell you how happy you've made me this past year."

"You've made me happy too," said Ginny.

Harry's face turned slightly pink at that statement. "After our exams, I'd, er, like to spend the rest of the day with you. Can you meet me here at 3:30?"

"Yes Harry. I'd love to." She then proceeded to kiss him quickly and walked out the portrait hole toward her exams.

The first exam went very well for Harry. He was extremely surprised that he'd actually beaten everybody in class, including Hermione, to the end of Professor Lupin's obstacle course. Both Ron and he were highly amused at Hermione's boggart. He couldn't wait to tell Ginny about it at lunch. He was thinking this when he, Ron, and Hermione ran into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. After a depressing conversation that proved conclusively to Harry that Fudge is in Mr. Malfoy's pocket and cares nothing about justice, they got to the Great Hall and met up with a cheerful redhead that kissed him upon entering the room. She asked, "How was your defense exam? I have mine after lunch."

He looked at her and put on the best smile he could manage and said, "Er, fine Ginny. I got the best grade in the class."

"Even better than Hermione? That's really great. Now tell me what's wrong. You three look like you've just been to a funeral."

After they'd told her about Fudge, and Ginny had verbally abused the Minister of Morons, er, Magic for having the executioner there on the day of the 'so-called' appeal, Harry decided to change the subject. "Lupin's exam was a lot of fun. I know it won't be the same exact one for you, but I think you'll enjoy it. We simply had to get past every creature we'd studied, except for a werewolf, which Snape made us study when Lupin was ill." Hermione huffed at this statement for a reason Harry couldn't imagine.

"So," asked Ginny with a devious look on her face, "how did you manage to beat Hermione on an exam?"

Harry and Ron chuckled while Hermione turned red and began staring intently at her plate. She said softly, "I got stopped by a boggart."

"A boggart?" asked Ginny, knowing that based off of the boys' chuckling this question would be well worth asking, "What did your boggart become?"

Ron began laughing loudly while Hermione seemed to sink lower in her seat. Harry, obviously having trouble holding back his laughter said quickly, "McGonagall telling her that she'd failed all her classes," and burst out laughing. Ginny joined in the laughter.

"It's not that funny!" said Hermione, who was now getting a bit irritated with them.

"I'm sorry Hermione, but actually it is that funny," said Ginny. "Ron told me how that in your first year you were afraid they'd get you 'killed, or worse, expelled.'" She then put on a more serious expression and looked in Hermione's eyes. "It's not funny. Actually, it's sad. I would've thought your worst fear would be something more important than your grades, but apparently you don't think anything is more important."

"That's not fair!" said Ron angrily, "She doesn't only care about her grades!"

"I, I do care about other things!" said Hermione, obviously unsure of herself, "I, er, care about my parents, and, and you. I also care about Hagrid and Buckbeak! We should visit them right after our last exams."

Ron said, "That's a good idea. What do you say, Harry?"

Harry and Ginny looked guiltily at one another, not sure what to say. Harry decided that he'd better answer the question. "Er, well Ron. Ginny and I had plans."

"Plans? Can't you two keep from sucking each other's faces for one bloody day!" yelled Ron. "I mean, I've accepted that you guys do that a lot more than you should, but …"

"Honestly Ronald," said Hermione. "Today is their anniversary."

"Yes brother, and if you don't shut up about our snogging, we'll celebrate by petrifying you again! I wonder how the Bat Bogey hex feels like to a person under the full body bind." Ron paled at this.

Harry said, "If Ginny doesn't mind, I think we can compromise on this."

Ginny raised her eyebrows, "Compromise?"

"Yeah. We'll go to Hagrid's hut right after dinner instead of after classes. We'll need to get the cloak from the secret passage though. It was decided that Hermione would be the one to retrieve the cloak, since she'd never been spotted near the secret passage before.

When Harry arrived in the common room after his Divination test, he looked pale. A concerned looking Ginny walked up to him and asked, "What's wrong?" He told her about Professor Trelawney's prediction and asked if Ginny thought it was real. She said, "I honestly don't know Harry, but I do know that there's nothing we can do about it. I think we should try to enjoy what little time we have alone today."

"You're right Ginny. Let me just put my stuff upstairs and I'll be right with you.

They ended up going to a rarely used room so they could have some privacy. They sat down on a few chairs that were facing each other for a few minutes, not sure exactly what to do for their anniversary. Ginny spoke first nervously. "Harry, I, er, got you something," and she pulled a small package out of her pocket that had a card attached.

"Thanks Ginny, I got you something too." Ginny relaxed a little and smiled. Harry then produced a package of his own with another card. They exchanged their gifts, and surprisingly, the packages looked very similar. Ginny insisted he open hers first. He opened the card and started to chuckle as he read,

"His eyes are as green as moldy old bread

His hair is as dark as a big piece of lead

It's now been a year, since I could call him dear

Can't get this boy out of my head!"

While laughing, he said, "I guess I'll have to write another poem for your birthday," and opened the package. He got quiet as his eyes widened when he saw a white handkerchief with the initials, "H P," embroidered in green letters in one of the corners. It was very well made, and Harry guessed that she'd done it herself. "Did you make this yourself?"

"Yes," Ginny looked down. "Do you hate it?"

"No. No, I love it. It's just…Open your gift." She looked confused but started to open the package. Her eyes bulged out and she smiled when she saw a white handkerchief with red lace along the sides, and a red rose embroidered in one of the corners.

"This is beautiful, Harry! I, this is so weird! I didn't tell anyone what I was giving you, so I know you didn't know I was making you a handkerchief."

She then opened her card and read the message inside, "Thank you for allowing me to help dry your tears."

Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she embraced Harry tightly, saying, "Thank you for caring enough to dry my tears. Thank you for putting joy in my life so that I don't always need to cry."

He put his arms around her and they held each other for a while, thanking each other for all they'd done for each other since they'd been together, and making promises for the future.

When they came, hand in hand, to the Great Hall for dinner, they found Ron looking irritated. "You're late! Couldn't you stop snogging long enough to look at a clock?"

"What is with you today, Ron?" asked an aggravated Ginny, "I thought you'd gotten over us being together!"

"He's just realizing that you're really serious about each other," said an annoyed Hermione. "He's been talking about it all afternoon. He had hoped you'd break up long before now, and he's beginning to wonder if you ever will."

"I hope we don't," said Harry. "I don't know what I'd do if that happened." Then he turned to Ron and said, "I'd think you'd be glad that I'm serious about Ginny. Would you prefer if I dumped her and went after some other girl?"

"No, I," said Ron, staring down at his plate.

"Maybe he'd rather I went after some other boy instead. Maybe Draco Malfoy would be more to Ron's liking! It might work. I am a pureblood after all!"

"Some of us are trying to eat here," said Hermione, clearly disgusted with that idea.

"No, I don't want you dating Malfoy! I just thought you both should, you know, date other people."

"Why should I date anyone else when I've already found the girl I want? I hope Ginny feels the same way as I do, cause I can't imagine not being with her!"

Ginny blushed and held his hand, "I do feel the same way, Harry. I know that most kids our age don't feel like that. Maybe we're just strange. Maybe it has something to do with our bond. I don't know. But I do know that Ron's coming awfully close to being hexed!"

"Your bond," said Hermione, looking like a light bulb had just gone on in her head, "I never thought of that! I'll have to read. Don't have time today. Never mind."

The other three people with her just stared at her until Ron said, "I hate it when she gets like that." Harry and Ginny laughed at that statement.

After dinner Harry retrieved his cloak out of his robe's pocket and they attempted to fit together under it, but found that their feet were showing. After five minutes of trying to fit by squatting down and anything else they could think of, Hermione pointed her wand at the cloak and said, "Engorgio." The cloak got bigger and they could all fit comfortably under it.

Harry was astonished. "How come you never tried that before?"

"I never thought of it."

Ginny said, "I think we'd better get moving if we're gonna see Hagrid."

They arrived at his cabin, Hermione found Scabbers to Ron's utter astonishment, and they left just before the executioners showed up. While they were headed toward the castle, Scabbers bit Ron and escaped after Crookshanks showed up. Ron got out from under the cloak to look for his rat in the darkness. All of the sudden a big black dog that looked like the grim caught Ron and pulled him under the Whomping Willow, breaking his leg in the process. The other three threw down the cloak without a second thought and ran after Ron. After Crookshanks had caused the tree to stop moving, they were able to follow Ron through the passage to the Shrieking Shack, only to find that the dog was actually the madman Sirius Black in disguise. Ginny immediately jumped in front of Harry, saying he'll have to kill her first. Both Ron and Hermione made similar claims, but Sirius said that only one would die tonight. After a long, confusing, and finally enlightening conversation which Lupin joined and Snape interrupted long enough to end up unconscious from three disarming spells and one powerful Bat Bogey hex, they found out that Percy and then Ron had been taking care of Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail for years, and that Sirius Black was innocent. Just when it looked like things were going to be fine, Professor Lupin became a werewolf, thus allowing Wormtail to escape. Just before Peter transformed back into a rat, Ginny jumped at him, intent on grabbing him by the throat. He transformed before she reached him, so she ended up falling to the ground, hands first. Her left hand broke when she hit the ground. Dementors then attacked.

Harry woke up in the Hospital wing to news of Black's capture and upcoming dementor's kiss. Dumbledore soon had the children alone to hear the real story, and had Harry and Hermione, who weren't injured, use the time turner to go back in time to help Buckbeak and Black escape. Before Sirius left on the hippogriff, he asked about the others.

"They'll both be all right," said Hermione. "They've just got a little mending to do."

Sirius turned to Harry and said, "I noticed the red haired girl…"

"Ginny," provided Harry, with a slight smile forming on his face.

"Ginny," continued Black, smiling broadly. "She seems to really care about you."

"We've, er," said Harry, begining to blush, "We've been going out for a year. Actually, today's our anniversary."

Black frowned slightly. "And you had to spend it rescuing me. Worse yet, she got injured. I'm sorry I ruined the day for you."

"You didn't. Pettigrew did," said Harry, now starting to frown.

"Anyway," said Sirius, "I was just going to comment that your taste in women is similar to James'. He ended up marrying a spirited redhead himself." Sirius then looked into Harry's eyes and said, "Ginny does remind me a lot of your mother."

Harry blushed once again at this statement. Not sure how to respond, he said, "You'd better go before they catch you."

But Black was still staring down at Harry.

"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are – truly your father's son, Harry…."

Black left on Buckbeak, leaving Harry and Hermione to hurry back to the hospital wing. When they finally got the chance to tell Ron and Ginny what had happened, Ron paled and Ginny blushed at Black's comparison of Ginny to Lily Potter.

"At least HE approves," said Ginny, still annoyed with Ron.

"I didn't say I don't approve!" said Ron defensively. "I just…"

"Want us to break up," supplied Harry. "That's not gonna happen!"

"You might as well just get used to it!" said Ginny, smiling. "In other words, dear brother, give it up."

Ron decided that if he wanted to maintain his friendships, he had to give up, at least for the time being.

-

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	11. Chapter 11 Back to the Dursleys

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 11 – Back to the Dursleys**

Starts in …

…The Prisoner of Azkaban – Chapter 22 – Owl Post Again

Harry woke up on the day that they were leaving Hogwarts in a sad mood. He knew he'd have to see the Dursleys again. What made it worse was that for a short time he thought he would be living with Sirius Black instead. What bothered him even more was the idea that he wouldn't see Ginny for months. He looked inside his trunk to pack what little was still unpacked. He noticed the 'spare bit of parchment' at the top. Lupin had given it back to Ginny on the day he left, but after finding out that Harry's father had helped create it, she felt that Harry should have it. He was happy that they all had passed their classes, especially the way Snape had been acting. He figured Dumbledore might have had something to do with that.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, Hermione told them she had dropped Muggle Studies and had turned in the time-turner. He was relieved she had done it, and couldn't imagine what she'd been through this year and how she hadn't gone completely crazy.

Ron and Ginny promised to get their parents to let him stay at their house that summer, and Ron mentioned something about going to the Quidditch World Cup. Harry wasn't paying too much attention. He was slipping into what he called the 'Dursley Depression.' Ginny must have noticed this and said, "Harry, let's go find the snack trolley," and pulled him up by the arm. He was too depressed to offer any resistance. As soon as they were away from Ron and Hermione, she turned back to him. "Harry, you've got to stop acting like this!"

"Like what?"

"Depressed! I know how horrible those muggles treat you, and I wish we could just take you to the Burrow instead, but we can't. Your moping around isn't going to help any. How do you think I feel knowing how miserable you are?"

Harry shrugged, and then looked at her thoughtfully, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I never thought of that. Ginny, don't worry about me. Just enjoy your summer. I'll be fine. The Dusleys aren't what's really bothering me. I just know how much I'll miss you. I'll write you at least three times a week, I promise."

She smiled and said, "You'd better! I'll miss you, too." She kissed him briefly and said, "We'd better find that trolley now, I'm starving."

After locating the trolley and purchasing enough treats for a small army, they slowly made their way back to the compartment where Ron and Hermione were arguing about Ron's need to take muggle studies, they sat back down. The argument stopped almost immediately as Ron began helping himself to as many snacks as he could fit in his mouth. They continued eating the sweets until Hermione said suddenly, "Harry, what's that thing outside your window?"

That thing turned out to be a tiny owl carrying a message from Sirius, along with a signed Hogsmeade permission form. The letter informed them that it was Sirius who'd bought the Firebolt. When the first postscript mentioned that Ron could keep the owl, Ginny immediately named it Pigwidgeon. Much to Ron's horror and Harry's amusement, the owl seemed to like the name. The second postscript told Harry to make sure he was good to Ginny, causing both he and his red-headed girlfriend to blush.

After leaving platform nine and three quarters together, Ginny threw her arms around Harry and kissed him deeply. It took Vernon Dursley yelling, "Boy!" three times before Harry heard and broke away from Ginny.

Ignoring the look she was getting from Harry's uncle, who was rapidly approaching, she said, "I love you, Harry. I'll see you soon."

Harry smiled at her. "I love you too, Ginny."

At this moment Vernon Dursley grabbed Harry's arm, causing him to drop envelope he'd been holding. While giving Ginny an evil look, Vernon said, "Why are you kissing this piece of trash! Just look at those old clothes! They look like hand-me-downs from a boy! They…"

Harry was officially upset. He glared at his uncle with over a decade of hatred in his eyes. "If you say one more word against her, you'll end up like Aunt Marge! I don't care if I'm expelled or not!" Then he turned to his girlfriend and said softly, "Bye Ginny. I think you'd better go."

Uncle Vernon paled at the mention of his sister. He was angry, but he dared not provoke his nephew in a public place like this. He decided to change the subject. "What's that?" he asked, referring to the envelope Harry had just picked up. If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another…"

"It's not," said Harry cheerfully. "It's a letter from my godfather. He likes Ginny."

"Godfather?" sputtered Uncle Vernon, and Harry proceeded to tell him all about the escaped murderer who broken out of wizard prison and wanted to make sure he was happy. He also told his uncle that Ginny was a lot like his godfather. As they left the station, it looked like it would be a much better summer than the last.

-

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	12. Chapter 12 Happy Birthday, Harry

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 12 – Happy Birthday, Harry**

Starts in between…

…The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire

Harry woke up suddenly, realizing he was under attack. He opened his eyes to find three owls loaded down with cards and gifts pecking at his hands to get his attention. The first one he examined was Hedwig, and she was carrying a birthday present from Hermione. This surprised him since he'd last sent her to the Weasleys with a letter for Ginny. Another he recognized as the Weasley family's owl, Errol. He looked at the package that owl was carrying, but was disappointed that it only contained presents from the Mr. & Mrs. Weasley and Ron. The third owl was from Hogwarts, and by the messy writing he immediately recognized that it was from Hagrid. He was almost afraid to open that package, considering that the present he'd gotten from Hagrid last year tried to eat his hand. He didn't even bother opening the presents.

He was disappointed. He had been looking for the present his girlfriend Ginny had sent him, but apparently she hadn't sent him anything. He briefly thought she might have forgotten, but quickly dismissed that notion. Her whole family was sending him gifts. He was sure they'd have mentioned it to her if somehow she had forgotten. Then he remembered her birthday last year. He hadn't remembered it at all. In fact, it was several months later that he found out about it. She'd said she forgave him, but apparently she still wanted him to know how it felt to be ignored by your significant other on your birthday. He lay back down on his bed miserably. He knew he deserved this.

After a few minutes of brooding, he decided that he might as well get up and face the day. He quickly showered in the five minutes allotted him by the Dursleys before Dudley took his forty-five minutes. He then dressed and walked downstairs to start making breakfast. He was greeted by Uncle Vernon shouting, "Boy, what took you so long? Get started making breakfast, and because of how late you were getting down here, you'll go back up to your room without eating anything! I mean it. If I catch you putting one crumb of toast in your mouth…"

At that moment the doorbell rang. Uncle Vernon walked toward the door while Harry made his way toward the kitchen. Before he made it there however, he heard his uncle scream, "You! What are you doing here? If you think you're going to see that freak…"

"Harry's godfather Sirius Black sent me to make sure he enjoys his birthday!" came Ginny's voice from the doorway. Harry's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't punishing him. He started walking slowly toward the door.

"His, his godfather sent you, did he?" said Vernon as his face started changing color.

"Yes," said Ginny firmly, "He sent me to fetch him. He'll be with us for the rest of the day. He would have picked Harry up himself, but…"

"Harry, er, Harry has chores he's got to do. He doesn't have time to celebrate his bloody birthday," Vernon said, acting confident, even though his face was now a shade of purple.

At this moment Harry had gotten to the door so that he could see Ginny, although her attention was focused on his Uncle. She was wearing blue jeans and a green T-shirt, yet somehow looked more intimidating than the werewolf he'd seen Lupin change into weeks before. "So, you won't let him come? Fine, I'll just go tell Sirius. He'll stop by later to express how he fells about it."

Ginny turned around as if to leave when Vernon Dursley yelled out, "Fine! He can go, but just today! Since it's his birthday! You tell his godfather I, I let him go celebrate it with you," he said, sounding defeated.

"I can!" said Harry, startling his uncle, who thought Harry was in the kitchen.

Vernon turned to face his nephew and said, "Yes, boy. Just make sure you're downstairs on time tomorrow morning!"

"Yes sir, bye!" said Harry excitedly, as he made his way toward Ginny.

"Just one more thing, Mr. Dursley," said Ginny with a mean look in her eyes. "Mr. Black asked me to make sure you wished him a happy birthday."

Harry fought back his laughter as he watched his uncle stare into Ginny's eyes for a full thirty seconds before he muttered, "Happy birthday, Harry," and closed the door.

Ginny then threw her arms around Harry, kissed him, and said, "Happy birthday, Harry!"

"It is now," he responded, looking toward the street where he saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione. They were all dressed in muggle clothes. Upon seeing Ginny's parents, Harry got a bit self-conscious about the kiss and turned slightly pink. He smiled broadly anyway and said, "Wow! Thanks for coming here! It's great to see all of you." He took a deep breath as he walked toward them, Ginny holding his hand. "It really is."

"You can thank Ginny and Sirius," said Mr. Weasley, shaking Harry's free hand. It was her idea, and she wrote Sirius about it. He wanted to make sure you enjoyed your birthday, so he sent us the money to take you to one of those muggle amazement perks!"

"Amusement parks, Mr. Weasley," corrected Hermione. She then walked up to Harry and hugged him. "Happy birthday, Harry." The rest of them wished him a happy birthday as well, but Mrs. Weasley was the only other person to hug him.

Harry then turned back to Ginny and said, "I thought you were punishing me for last year when I didn't get anything from you. This is the best present you could give me!"

She blushed a little. "Actually, I do have a present for you, but I'm not giving it until we get back."

Mr. Weasley then walked to the curb and stuck out his wand, causing the Knight Bus to appear. After being thrown around the bus several times, Harry felt the vehicle stop. He then heard Stan Shunpike say, "Here we are, The Enchanted Earth. Isn't that some sort of Muggle fun place?" Harry nodded affirmatively at Stan, found Ginny on the floor near him, and helped her up. They joined the rest of their party and left the bus. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley told the children to stay put while they figured out how to get inside the park. Harry briefly considered kissing the ground after that bus ride. Ron did, causing both Hermione and Ginny to laugh.

"What?" asked Ron, "That ride was awful!"

"Actually," said Hermione, with a smile on her face, "It's not very different from the rides we're about to go on."

"That's right," said Fred and George together, joining in the conversation.

"We have a bet going…" said Fred.

"…As to whether or not you'll actually get on a roller coaster," said George.

"Hermione and I think you will get on one, but George and Ginny think you won't," said Fred as Ron gave a dirty look to his sister, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"We haven't had the chance to ask Harry what he thinks yet," said George.

Harry smiled, looking between Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. He decided that he feared Ginny's wrath more than any of the others, so he said, "A galleon says Ron won't get on any roller coaster…" causing Ron to turn red, Fred and Ginny to laugh, and Hermione and George to glare at him. He then felt inspiration to add a stipulation. "…unless Hermione is sitting next to him." This caused Ron and Hermione both to blush while everyone else started laughing uncontrollably.

"That's ridiculous!" shouted an indignant Ron, whose face was now purple. "I'll ride anything you want! Alone!"

"Ok Ron," said Ginny with a mischievous look on her face. "The first one we'll go on is called, 'The Spider.'"

Ron's purple complexion suddenly turned white. "The, the Sp,Spider? Why's it called that?"

Before she could answer him, the Weasley adults had returned, and told them to follow. The kids were all quiet as Mr. Weasley had Hermione handle the muggle money transaction. They each were handed their tickets (and implored not to lose them) and they walked into the Enchanted Earth amusement park. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley told the kids to meet them at noon for lunch, and then headed off in their own direction, leaving the kids to their own devices.

Near the entrance, there was a merry-go-round with muggle representations of magical creatures to ride. It had unicorns and centaurs that Harry thought looked alright, but it also had mermaids and hippogriffs that in Harry's opinion looked completely wrong. After watching it for a few minutes, Ron said confidently, "I can ride that rolly coister."

Fred chuckled. "That's not a roller coaster bro. That's called a merry-go-round. It's a ride for little children. Of course, if you'd like to ride it, that's fine. The rest of us will go to the grown-up rides."

"Maybe Hermione will stay here with you, Ron," said Ginny with a smirk on her face.

"Mum and dad might even pay her for babysitting," said George, causing Ron's face to turn Gryffindor red while everyone else, even Hermione, began laughing loudly.

"I, I've just never seen these rides before. Er, now that I'm, y'know, watching it more closely, I, well I can see that it's boring. Where are the roller coasters?"

Ginny pointed at a particularly scary one that had a train with several rows with two seats side by side that looked like brooms (except for the safety device that strapped you in. It was called 'The Broomstick.' They walked over to the ride and got in line. Harry said, "It'll be just like a game of Quidditch! It even looks like they have a few Wronski feints on the track, along with a lot of loops. It looks like they're moving faster than my firebolt!"

Ron, who loved quidditch but preferred the position of Keeper, where you didn't have to do loops or dives, began getting visibly nervous. His siblings seemed to notice this even before Harry. Fred casually remarked, "I sure hope those muggles built it right. I'd hate to be in one of those accidents."

"Ac, Accidents?" questioned the now sweating Ron.

"They're very rare," said George, with a serious expression on his face. "But, they do sometimes happen." Ron was getting pale.

"But if you've got to go," said Ginny, "that's the way to do it!"

"In a blaze of glory!" said Harry, joining in on the fun. Ron appeared to be trembling slightly as he listened to the screams coming from the ride.

"Guys!" said Hermione, "You're making Ron nervous. Honestly Ron, accidents on roller coasters are extremely rare. They just want to scare you."

"You're only saying that to win the bet, Hermione!" said Ginny, successfully stopping Ron from calming down at the brunette's words and causing the others to chuckle. Hermione glared at the other girl.

"I'm sure you won't be as nervous if Hermione sits by you," said Harry, winking at Ron.

Ron turned red again. "I, I can ride it and I don't need anybody next to me," he said nervously. "I'm not afraid!" he shouted, convincing no one, especially not himself. They waited in relative silence, except for exaggerated gasps from Ron's siblings, apparently surprised the ride hadn't crashed yet, for a few minutes while moving toward the front of the line. All of the sudden, Ron exclaimed, "Weren't we gonna ride 'The Spider' first? Maybe we should leave the line and come back to this later."

"You can leave if you want to," said Harry, Ginny, and George said together."

"I'm sure there's room on the merry-go-round," said Ginny.

"No, no," said Ron. "I'm getting on the bloody Broomstick!"

"Language, Ronald," scolded Hermione. "And you don't have to go alone. I'd prefer to have someone accompany me on rides, and since Harry is with Ginny, and Fred is with George, I'd appreciate it if you'd sit next to me, no matter what Harry bet."

"Well," said Ron, glaring at Harry, "Since she asked me, it would be rude to say no. I'm getting on the ride, and I'm sitting next to Hermione. That means Fred, Hermione, and Harry I guess, will win the bet."

"You're still not on the ride, little bro," said George, still hoping to win the bet.

Ginny however looked resigned to losing. She whispered to Harry, "As soon as you made your bet, I knew that I should have changed my bet to match. I guess I'm out ten sickles."

Harry whispered back, "I could…"

"No you don't. I should've taken the Hermione effect into account like you. I deserve to lose the bet."

Harry whispered, "I wonder if they'll ever figure out that they like each other."

Ginny whispered, "I don't know. Maybe we should start a betting pool about when, where, and how. Or get the twins to start one. Let them do all the work."

"I like how you think."

"Will you two stop whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears?" said Ron. "Everybody's watching you!"

"They're probably jealous they don't have anyone to whisper to," said Ginny defiantly. "Why don't you whisper your complaints about us into Hermione's ear? She might actually care what you have to say."

Ron turned red again. "I don't! I'm not!"

What he wasn't, they never found out, because at that moment, it was time for them to get on the ride. Ron got into the seat next to Hermione, and was actually trembling slightly. He paled when the safety harness came down on him. Very shortly after the ride began, he grabbed Hermione's hand and didn't let go of it until the ride was over. He could be heard screaming louder than anyone else on the ride; even louder than Hermione, who was screaming more out of pain than anything else. She was literally afraid that Ron was going to break her hand. After the ride, Ron looked like a ghost. He was pale and his hair was partially standing up. Hermione pealed his fingers back while he sat there, apparently in shock. The twins got him out of his seat and walked him away from the ride toward another.

They took Ron through several rides, him sitting next to Hermione for every one of them. After about five, he began enjoying himself. 'The Spider' was nothing more than an octopus ride, and Ron realized that it wasn't nearly as frightening as the roller coasters. After riding that, they joined Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for lunch at a pizza place inside the park, where they told the waiter that it was his birthday. This resulted in public humiliation in the form of several waiter and waitresses singing to him, and a free piece of chocolate cake. After lunch, they separated again and went back to the rides. At about five o'clock, they met up again, and all of them went on the bumper cars, even Mrs. Weasley. They had such a good time on them that they went a second time. After that, they left the park and took the Knight Bus, which didn't seem nearly as frightening to Ron, back to Harry's house.

While they were on the Knight Bus, Ginny handed him a small bag that said the name of the amusement part they'd visited on it. Ginny said, "I asked Mum and Dad to pick it up for me when we met them at lunch. He looked into the bag and found a green T-shirt that said, 'I rode The Broomstick at Enchanted Earth!'

He chuckled at this and gave her a quick kiss at the exact moment the bus made a stop. Mouths still together, they fell off their seats and landed with Ginny on top of Harry in a very compromising position right in front of Ron. As they were getting up, Harry noticed the look of disgust on Ron's face and said, "What? I was just thanking Ginny for her gift," and walked off with a smiling Ginny back to their seats. Eventually the bus got to Harry's home and they all got off. Before he went into the house to face his relatives, he kissed Ginny and said to all of them, "Thank you all for giving me the best birthday I've ever had!"

-

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	13. Chapter 13 Happy Birthday, Ginny

Sorry I took so long to update. I had some computer problems.

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 13 – Happy Birthday, Ginny**

Starts in between…

…The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Goblet of Fire

Harry woke up at 5 a.m. on the morning of August 11th with a mission. It was Ginny's birthday today, and he was going to make sure that it was a happy one! He'd ordered her gift by owl on the 1st, and it had arrived a few days before. He took his shower and dressed in jeans and his "Broomstick" t-shirt Ginny had given him for his birthday. This was his first time wearing it since he was sure his uncle would've torn it off of him if he'd seen it. He stuffed Ginny's present, along with an old t-shirt, into his pockets. Since it's always easier to get forgiveness than permission, especially with the Dursleys afraid of Sirius, he didn't tell them anything about his plan. He left a note telling them Sirius had shown up and insisted he left. He quietly snuck down the stairs carrying his broomstick and outside the door. He walked a few blocks away from the house and pointed his wand at the street. The Knight Bus arrived, and after he'd instructed them to take him to the Burrow, he got into one of the beds (it was still too early for them to change to seats) and prepared for the bumpy ride.

When the bus arrived at the Burrow and he exited it, he found the place quiet and dark. He thought about waiting by the door for Merlin knows how long for someone to wake up, but instead decided to enjoy himself. He got on his firebolt and began flying around, eventually deciding to fly by Ginny's window. He found the curtains and window open, and could see Ginny peacefully sleeping in her bed. He thought how peaceful and innocent she looked laying there asleep in her pajamas, and chuckled at the thought of how much it contrasted her personality when she was awake. That small chuckle was enough to make her start to stir. She mumbled, "Mum, just five more minutes," causing Harry to smile.

He decided to wake her up, so he said through her window, "I'm not your mum, but I'd really like it if you woke up."

"Hm, Harry, I'm still sleepy. I'm…HARRY?" Her eyes opened and darted around her room, finally resting on the figure outside her window. She smiled and started walking toward it.

"Happy Birthday Ginny!" Harry said before she could ask what he was doing there. The excitement in her eyes made him excited. He mentally kicked himself for not doing this last year. She just stared at him for about thirty seconds before he suggested, "Would you mind going downstairs and letting me in? I'd come in through your window, but if one of your brothers caught me leaving your bedroom, I'd probably be dead before I had time to explain."

"Of course, Harry!" she said as she grabbed her robe and ran downstairs. She flung the door open and waited for him. He flew past her into the living room before dismounting. When he did, she flung herself into his arms so fast that he fell over, causing a loud bang that woke up most of the house.

Mrs. Weasley arrived downstairs so fast Harry wondered if she'd apparated when she said, "Ginny dear, what hap… Harry, what are you doing here?"

Harry got himself untangled from under Ginny as he said nervously, "Er, I came to spend Ginny's birthday her, er, if that's ok. She hugged me and I, well I tripped." Ginny nodded at her mother while her cheeks began to match her red hair. Despite her embarrassment, she was still smiling ear to ear.

Molly could see how happy Harry had made her daughter, and smiled too. She gave Harry a big hug that Harry suspected cracked a few of his ribs. "That was very thoughtful of you, Harry dear. Of course, you're always welcome here! I'm so glad your relatives allowed you to come here." She noticed Harry nervously shifting around at that statement, but decided that ignorance was bliss (since she didn't think any of her own kids were involved) so she didn't ask any questions about it. Instead, she started making breakfast.

When the various members of the Weasley family woke up, they were surprised, though pleased that Harry had come (except for Percy, who didn't seem to care about anything besides cauldron bottoms. He came down for breakfast and went straight back to his room with hardly a word to anyone. Harry was going to go upstairs and insist that Percy wish his only sister a happy birthday when Ginny stopped him by saying, "He's been like that since he started working for the ministry. That git doesn't care about anything but himself and his precious job. Even if you got him to say, 'Happy Birthday,' he wouldn't mean it anyway, so there's just no point."

"You made Uncle Vernon wish me a happy birthday," said Harry.

She giggled, "That was just for a laugh." Then she looked more seriously at Harry. "I don't know what's wrong with him, Harry. This past year he's just been getting more and more distant from us. Ever since he got that stupid 'Head Boy' badge. Fred and George were right about him becoming 'Big Head Boy.' I sometimes think he's ashamed to be a Weasley. The last time he showed concern for any of us was when he made me take that horrible potion for illness during my first year, when he noticed I was looking pale. Now he just struts about, talking about his wonderful boss, Mr. Crouch, who, according to dad, everyone at the ministry besides Percy hates. I think Percy wants to leave the family."

Harry sighed. "I wish I knew how to help Percy. He has what I've always wanted, a family that loves him, and he seems to wish he didn't. Maybe tonight he can go back to the Dursleys instead of me. They'll be glad to leave him alone!" At this, Ginny chuckled. Harry continued, "Well, let's not let him ruin your birthday!" and kissed her.

He spent an exhausting day of playing Quidditch (insisting that the birthday girl use his firebolt while he used an old broom), swimming in the pond (wearing a pair of Ron's trunks), and eating more than he usually got in a week at the Dursleys. A few minutes before he left, he got Ginny alone so he could give her his gift. He told her he'd considered getting her an 'I kissed Harry Potter' t-shirt, earning a light punch on the arm from Ginny, who claimed they actually existed. After he assured her that she was the only one he'd ever kissed and anyone else who wore that shirt was a liar, he produced a small, badly-wrapped package out of his pocket. She took it and opened it nervously, hoping he wasn't giving her the key to his Gringotts vault. It was a box containing a gold brooch in the shape of a rose. A note inside the box said, "This pin has been charmed so that the wearer is protected from all magical mental assaults such as love-potions, the Imperious curse, and possession."

When Ginny read that, her eyes started filled up with unshed tears. Harry said, "I hope you don't mind. I, er, just wanted to make sure that you were safe, er, that no one could ever use you again."

She gave him a slight smile. "I understand, and I'm really touched, honest. I know how much this must have cost. I actually thought of getting this charm for you when I bought that pin for Valentine's day. I just didn't have the money…"

Harry hugged her and said, "Ginny, I love you! That pin means a lot to me, and you mean a lot more! I've got to do everything I can to protect you, because I don't know what I'd do without you!"

She put her head down and whispered, "Thanks. I love you, too," as she pinned it on her shirt. "I'll make sure to wear it all the time." Then she looked seriously at him and said, "Harry, I think you should buy yourself one of these, too. Maybe a small necklace you can hide, though. For one thing, you're famous, so a lot of witches might want to slip you a love potion. For another thing, you end up facing dark wizards a lot. They might try to control you. I think it would be a good idea for you to have extra protection."

Harry rubbed his chin. "Hm. You may be right. I think we should also suggest Hermione get herself one. Maybe we can talk her into buying Ron one too."

"I don't think she'll do that yet. At least not until they admit how they feel about each other." Ginny then smiled her mischievous smile. "Maybe we can work on that next term." She then turned her attention back to her gift. "What all does it protect me from?

Harry said, "When I saw the complete list of what it protects from, I er, asked Hermione what they were." He pulled two small rolls of parchment out of his pocket and handed them to her. "One is the full list, and the other is another poem."

She chuckled. "Another poem? Can't wait to read it!" It happened to be the first scroll she opened.

Her eyes are as brown as the bark of a tree.

Her hair is as red as fresh-picked cherry

Today's her birthday, I just want to say

I'm so glad she spent it with me!

They both laughed at that. Ginny then kissed Harry and said, "I'm so glad you spent the day with me! It means a lot."

"I guess I've got to go back to the Dursleys. I love you!"

"I love you too, and I think you can wait a few minutes," Ginny said as she proceeded to snog him senseless.

-

When he arrived at the Dursleys, he put on his other t-shirt he'd brought so they wouldn't see his broomstick t-shirt. He walked into his house and didn't get two steps into the door before he heard Vernon shout, "Boy! If you think that you can come and go as you please just because you're lunatic godfather does, you've got another thing coming!"

"As I please?" shouted Harry, now forming a plan to make his uncle happy, "Sirius shows up at five in the morning and makes me work all day taking inventory of his stolen cursed objects so he can sell them, then making me exercise for hours without a break so that when I'm old enough I can join him if I want! Then he started teaching me ways to kill people without magic, making me memorize the differences between killing by strangulation verses a broken neck! He had me using dummies this time, but he said he might get live people next time. He asked me specifically to let him know if you gave me a hard time about spending the day with him."

Vernon Dursley's face went more purple than ever before at the idea of Harry being taught ways to murder. "N, no problem, Harry. J, Just would have wanted warnin, I mean, to know ahead of time. That's all."

"Ok. Goodnight Uncle Vernon." Harry walked back to his room, stopping himself from smiling until he closed the door.

-

I know I promised Harry getting picked up by the Weasleys next, but then I realized Ginny's birthday came before then. If Harry ignored it again, he wouldn't have lived to see the world cup, and Voldemort would have had to use a different wizard's blood to rise again.

-

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	14. Chapter 14 Back to the Burrow

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 14 – Back to the Burrow**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 2 – The Scar

Harry woke up in pain with his hand on his scar after dreaming about Voldemort and Wormtail planning his murder. While examining himself in the mirror, he decided he should tell someone about it. The first person he thought of was Ginny. Who better to talk to than the one who had shared her nightmares with him. He walked over to his desk and noticed the letter he'd received from her just yesterday.

_Dear Harry,_

_Ron said he'd let you know, but I figured the way he puts things off it'll take him days to actually send the letter. You're coming back to the Burrow! Dad got the tickets to the Quidditch World Cup! It's gonna be Ireland versus Bulgaria this Monday night. We'll be picking you up Sunday at 5! Dad wants to use the Floo network. I thought about telling him you had your fireplace blocked off, but then I thought about how funny it would be for the Dursley's living room to be blown up! I told the twins about it, and they agreed with me. We'll be the last ones to come, and we'll try to get Ron to go first. Don't worry, Dad'll be able to fix whatever damage we do, but I just want to see the look on those horrible people's faces when their precious house is damaged! The twins are also planning on doing something to your cousin. I asked them to tell me what, but they just told me to find my own prank, so that's what I'm gonna do! I can't wait to see you!_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

_P.S. Mum sent a letter to the Dursleys the muggle way asking for permission to take you (not that they could stop us – we'll pick you up either way, she just thought it would be polite to ask). I hope she did it right. The envelope she sent was full of those stamps. It didn't look right to me, but she said they were needed._

Chuckling to himself, and realizing that his scar had stopped hurting him, he grabbed a piece of parchment and began to write his letter.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I can't wait to see you, either! The World Cup sounds exciting! I've never seen any games besides the ones at Hogwarts. I'm glad I know to stay away from the fireplace tomorrow! That should be funny! I'd tell you not to upset the Dursleys, but they hate me and everyone else magical (and nonmagical too, based off of how they talk about everyone) so a good prank won't make any difference! I remember when Hagrid gave Dudley a pig's tail on my 11th birthday! Maybe you could do something like that. Just a thought!_

_Anyway, I'd like to tell you about this dream that I had last night..._

…_and then I woke up with my scar hurting and felt I should tell someone about it. You seemed the perfect person to discus my nightmares with. I'd appreciate it if you don't tell anyone about it. Ron would run to your dad and worry your whole family, while Hermione would owl Dumbledore. I think I'll write to Sirius about it, too, so send Hedwig right back to me (hopefully with another sandwich)._

_I'm happy to say that both Dudley and Uncle Vernon are completely miserable with the diet they're on. I can't thank you enough for sending those sandwiches every day with Hedwig. I appreciate the cakes and candy everyone's sent me, but honestly, you can only eat so much cake before you get sick of it. It's nice to have real food. Besides, the cakes are starting to stale. Anyway, I love you and I can't wait to see you._

_Love,_

_Harry_

After he finished writing this letter, he started on his letter to Sirius, hoping that Hedwig would get back from hunting soon. When he was finished with that letter, he got dressed and went downstairs for his 'breakfast,' which consisted of the smallest quarter of a grapefruit Harry had ever seen. Right after he finished eating it, he was called to the living room by a very upset Uncle Vernon who had just finished talking to the postman about a strange letter that had just arrived. The envelope was completely covered with stamps except for a small portion in the middle where Mrs. Weasley had addressed it to the Dursleys. After an interesting and amusing conversation where Harry had basically threatened that if he couldn't go to the Quidditch World Cup, Sirius the escaped murderer would visit the house and kill all the Dursleys, he practically skipped up the stairs, making sure to taunt Dudley about how 'filling' breakfast was along the way.

When he arrived in his room, he immediately saw that both Hedwig and Pigwidgeon were in there. Pig had the note from Ron that Ginny had mentioned. He scribbled a reply to Ron and sent Pig away. Then he added another post script to Ginny, mentioning he'd gotten Ron's note and the Dursleys said he could go. He also said she was right about the stamps and sent Hedwig with that letter.

The next day, when Harry was asked if the Weasleys were arriving by car, he put on a straight face and said, "I don't know." At precisely 5 o'clock, there was a strange noise coming from behind the fireplace. Harry, knowing exactly what was going on, listened to Ron's voice complaining. He'd managed to tell Ron, "Be careful of the spiders in there," earning a whimper from his friend before he heard Mr. Weasley's voice.

After the chimney had exploded, covering the Dursleys with dust, and Ron, Fred, George, and Mr. Weasley had exited, Ginny came through the fireplace with an unreadable expression. She ran up to Harry and hugged him, allowing a small pastry to fall out of her pocket in the process, while the twins were getting Harry's trunk. Before they had left however, they her a mixture of a scream and a screech, as they saw that Dudley had become a canary with a growing tongue. Dudley had just changed back to a whale-sized boy with a still growing tongue when Harry finally left after Arthur forced Vernon to say goodbye. When he arrived at the Burrow, Harry met Bill and Charlie Weasleys. They, along with Harry, the twins, Ginny, and Ron, had a good laugh at Dudley's expense before a very upset-looking Arthur Weasley showed up. He immediately asked everyone but the twins to leave. While they were going upstairs, Harry heard the twins try to deny turning Dudley into a canary, claiming Ginny must have done it, but Arthur wouldn't hear it.

They ran into Percy, who seamed to be under the impression that he was in a library and everyone was supposed to tiptoe and whisper whenever they were near his door. Having been forewarned in a letter from Ginny, he did not mention one word to Percy about work. Ginny, glaring daggers at her ignorant brother, reminded Percy that this was a house, not a library, and that only a crazy fanatic brings their work home. Percy put on a smug face and said she was too young to understand and went back into his room.

They wound up in Ginny's room, where they found Hermione reading a thick book, as usual. She looked up, put the book down, and hugged Harry, saying she didn't hear him come in. At that moment, they heard Mrs. Weasley begin yelling at the twins, and decided the best thing to do was ignore it. When the argument was over, they helped with dinner, and spent the rest of the night talking about what they would see the next day at the Quidditch World Cup.

-

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	15. Ch15  The Aftermath Quidditch World Cup

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 15 – The Aftermath of the Quidditch World Cup**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 10 – Mayhem at the Ministry

Harry, along with Hermione and the Weasleys, was exhausted. They had gone to see the Quidditch World Cup, and thoroughly enjoyed it, until the evening celebrations were interrupted by Death Eaters. Apparently their idea of fun was ruining everyone else's fun. The scariest part for Harry was moments after the Dark Mark was conjured when a bunch of supposedly light side wizards shot stunners at himself, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He now understood that it was Voldemort's sign, but he still felt that simply conjuring any sign shouldn't be treated as a crime. He thought if those people should have been trying harder to capture the Death Eaters who had been terrorizing muggles instead of going after the people who conjured the Dark Mark anyway. But then again, the ministry of morons had already proven time and time again that they were a bunch of idiots.

First, in Harry's second year, they arrested Hagrid for opening the Chamber of Secrets based solely on the fact that he'd been blamed for doing it fifty years before. Couldn't they have just had a few aurors keep an eye on him instead of sending him to the dementors? Then they sent a bunch of dementors to terrorize (I mean guard) a school full of children. Even when they'd nearly killed one of the students, namely himself, in the middle of a Quidditch game, Fudge refused to remove the dementors. Then when the truth came out about Black's innocence, Fudge refused to listen to him and his friends, based solely on the fact that they were young. It was four children's word against Snape's. The most ridiculous thing about the Ministry of Magic in Harry's opinion was that the minister himself, Cornelius Fudge, was a personal friend of Lucius Malfoy, the man who'd slipped Riddle's diary to Ginny, and whose son all but admitted was one of the Death Eaters terrorizing muggles. Then there's the fact that hundreds of ministry officials were incapable of capturing even one of those crazies at the World Cup. Then there was Ludo Bagman, who seemed to be determined to make sure that any efforts made by wizards to keep the statute of secrecy were wasted. Not to mention Barty Crouch, who sacked his house elf just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't feel as strongly about it as Hermione did, but he knew it was unfair, and was surprised to see the adult wizards going along with it. He knew that there were a few good low level people like Arthur Weasley working for them, but the leadership, especially the minister himself, was a bad joke. He'd never admit it, but he felt that the ministry did deserve the criticism that the Daily Prophet was giving them.

Harry was glad to be back at the Burrow and away from that fiasco. He wanted to talk to Ginny about his dream, especially now that the Death Eaters were active and the Dark Mark had been seen for the first time in thirteen years. They hadn't gotten a chance to be alone since he'd arrived, so he figured it wouldn't arouse suspicion if he went for a walk with his girlfriend, who was relaxing next to him on the couch. "Ginny, want to go for a walk?"

"What, Oh, sure Harry," she said as she realized he was speaking to her.

"Don't be out too long," said Mrs. Weasley, who heard them from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in an hour, and I expect you both back here by then."

"Sure, mum."

"Of course, Mrs. Weasley."

They both got up and walked out the door toward a secluded spot Ginny had shown him on her birthday. They sat down on the ground and Harry began the conversation. "I've been thinking about my dream. I wonder if it has anything to do with the attack at the world cup and the dark mark being seen again after all these years."

Ginny's brow was furrowed in concentration. "I really don't know Harry. You said your scar only used to hurt you when He was nearby. If his followers are active again, it might mean he's getting more powerful. Maybe that's why you can feel him now." Both Harry and Ginny paled at that thought. "Of course, that's just a guess. Maybe we should ask Hermione's opinion."

"She'll just tell us to ask Dumbledore and consult a book while we wait for his answer." He put his head in his hands and muttered, "I don't think any book will have answers because I don't think anyone else has ever had a curse scar like mine. Even Dumbledore can only guess about my scar!"

"I still think you should tell her about it, Harry," said Ginny firmly. "She's your best friend and deserves to know!"

"Fine," conceded Harry. "I suppose we should tell Ron, too."

"Then we'll tell them after dinner, Harry," Ginny said happily. "In the meantime, I think we should head back before mum calls us back." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and helped him up. Together, they made their way back to the burrow.

-

Dinner went by swiftly, aside from a small argument that the twins started harassing Harry, causing Ginny to threaten to hex them, and soon the quartet found themselves huddled in Ginny's room, discussing the Voldemort-related events. Hermione listened intently to Harry's dream and Ginny's opinion with her brow furrowed while Ron paled at the thought of you-know-who being stronger. "I think we should tell Professor Dumbledore about it," she said predictably. "In the mean time, I'll…"

"Consult some book that couldn't possibly have the answer in it," Harry suggested, earning a glare from Hermione and a slight chuckle from Ron. "I'm sorry Hermione. You're one of my best friends, and I don't want to hurt your feelings. I just don't think anybody has ever had a scar like mine, so therefore, I don't think anybody really understands it. Which means that all that anybody, even Dumbledore, can say about it is a guess." Hermione seemed to relax a bit as her glare disappeared. "I told you about it because I want to hear your opinion, not a promise to research."

"Well Harry," Hermione said nervously, "I'm not sure. I think I agree with Ginny that you-know-who might be getting stronger with Wormtail now loose to help him."

"Yeah," said Ron. "Didn't Trelawney say that he'd help the Dark Lord rise again or something?" Hermione scoffed at that but Harry and Ginny seemed amazed that he'd remember that."

"That's a good point, Ron. Hermione, I know you think she's a fraud, and usually she is. But you weren't there when she made that prediction, and the first part about Wormtail escaping did come true! Even Dumbledore, the man you wanted me to consult, thinks it was a real prediction."

Ginny said, "Wasn't that rat was in your dream, helping his master?" Harry nodded. "I'll bet it was real, that Pettigrew did find Tom and is helping him." Then she looked at Harry terrified, "That means he really is planning to kill you."

"Don't worry Ginny. I once told you that there's always someone trying to do me in. Maybe one day they'll succeed, I don't know. But I do know that I'm not going to let them ruin my life!" Ginny then got up and hugged him, while Ron looked away with an impatient look in his eyes.

At that moment they heard a loud explosion outside, getting their attention and causing Harry and Ginny to break apart. They heard the twins shout in unison, "Ginny!"

Harry looked at his girlfriend with a smirk on his face. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing," said Ginny, causing Harry to raise his eyebrows. "Honestly Harry. I was thinking of doing something to them but I haven't done it yet."

They all left the room to find Fred and George looking furious with their red hair sticking up above their heads in the shape of a heart. They all started laughing at this immediately, until they were interrupted by Mrs. Weasley shouting, "Fred, George, what happened to you?"

"I guess Ginny came through on her threat…" said George calmly.

"…to hex us," finished Fred equally calmly.

"I did not!" said Ginny, whose face was turning red with anger. "They probably did it to themselves…"

"To themselves, Ginny?" yelled Mrs. Weasley. "You expect me to believe that? Off to bed with you, now! And tomorrow, you're degnoming the garden by yourself!" Mrs. Weasley then stormed down the stairs, muttering to herself, "It looks like we've been too easy on her! The twins have been a bad influence…"

As soon as she was out of eye and earshot, the twins each put a small piece of candy in their mouth, and within seconds their hair was back to normal.

Ginny looked ready to kill while the others watched in shock. "You did do it to yourselves to frame me!" she said while pulling out her wand. "I'll, I'll…"

"You'll do what, little sister?" asked Fred.

"Mum's already mad at you for pranking us," said George.

"You framed us for turning Dudley into a canary," said Fred.

"So now we've framed you," said George.

"We're even now!" they said together, then they both started laughing at her.

"This isn't over!" said Ginny as she stormed back into her room, slamming the door.

-

Please review.


	16. Chapter 16  Stuck

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 16 – Stuck**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 10 – Mayhem at the Ministry

Harry was lying in bed asleep in Ron's room, when he felt someone shake him. He opened his eyes to see a blurry form he'd recognize anywhere, even without his glasses. "Ginny!" he said out loud until she signaled for him to be quiet. With a puzzled look on his face, he reached for his glasses. When he put them on, he saw that she was holding his firebolt and invisibility cloak, which had been in his trunk.

"I need you to come with me," she whispered.

He nodded and got out of bed. Together, they crept out of Ron's room and down the stairs, doing their best not to make any noise. When they got out the door, Harry noticed it was still dark outside. "What time is it?"

"About 4 o'clock."

"4 o'clock? Why'd you wake me at…"

"If you'll just listen, I'll tell you!" said Ginny impatiently. "I want to pull a prank on Fred and George, and I need your help."

He smiled. "I assume that's what you need my stuff for as well."

"Uh huh. I need you to fly outside their window under the cloak…"

-

Fred and George lay sleeping in their room when they heard a loud tapping on the window. Fred got up, opened the curtain, and saw nothing. He went back to bed. Once he was comfortable, he heard the tapping again. This time George got up and checked. He didn't see anything, so he went back to bed. The tapping came again, so Fred and George both got up and walked to the window. Fred opened it and yelled, "Whoever's doing that had better stop!" and reached out his hand, feeling around for something he never found. They closed the window and got back in bed, only to hear the tapping noise again. They were getting irritated now. They both got out of their beds and walked up to the window, pulled it open, and started yelling, "Whoever this is, it's not…"

At that moment, there was loud banging coming from their door. They both walked toward it, leaving their window open. George opened the door to find Ginny, looking very tired and irritated. She immediately began yelling, "Will you QUIT that yelling and screaming in here! It's bad enough you made me spend all of yesterday degnoming the garden by myself, but now you can't even let me sleep! I mean, if you must insist on being up and yelling at this time of night, you could at least put a silencing charm on your room! Oh yeah, you're still too young to do magic outside of Hogwarts, aren't you…"

On and on she went, effectively distracting them from what was going on behind them as Harry, with his invisibility cloak securely around him and his broom, flew from the window to Fred's bed and then to George's, saying an incantation at each bed, and then flew back out the window.

"…and you could try to be considerate of other people, even if you don't care about bothering me! There are lots of other people in this house trying to sleep!"

"Like your boyfriend," said Fred.

"Harry needs his beauty sleep," finished George.

"You leave Harry out of this!" she shouted and left.

The twins then closed their door and window, and got into their respective beds. Ten minutes after they lay down, the tapping at their window began again.

"I'll get it, Fred," muttered George. He sat up as he prepared to leave his bed when it happened. "Wha?" The half of the mattress by his feet folded upward, knocking George back to the laying position. "Fred, there's something wrong with my bed."

"Fine," said Fred, irritated with his brother. "I'll do it." He started to roll out of the bed only to watch it roll him back to the center. "What's going on?"

George tried standing up, only to find that as soon as he stood on the bed, he was knocked back into the laying position. For about an hour they kept trying to get out of bed, only to be stopped by their apparently living mattresses. They tried reaching for their wands, only to find that their beds wouldn't let them even do that. No matter what they did, they ended up lying flat on their backs.

At six o'clock they heard their mother call through the door, "Get up, Fred and George. Breakfast will be ready soon."

"We can't get out of bed, mum!" said Fred.

"If you weren't up so late, you wouldn't be so tired. Now get up, boys," she said as they heard her footsteps climb down the stairs toward the kitchen.

"What are we going to do?" asked George.

"I don't know," said Fred. "Hopefully there's a time limit. Otherwise we'll have to admit that someone pranked us."

"That'll be twice in two days," said George.

"We can't do that, even if the first one wasn't really Ginny," said Fred.

"This time was Ginny," came a happy female voice from behind their door, which immediately opened, revealing their sister, wearing a smirk on her face.

"But how?" asked Fred and George together.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"She had help," said George.

"Probably her boyfriend on his broom," said Fred.

"With that wonderful cloak," said George.

"I wish we had one," said Fred enviously.

"Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't," said Ginny, still smirking.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" said George.

"Release us," said Fred.

"I can't," said Ginny, turning to leave.

"Then get Harry if he's the only one who can release us!" said George, who was now turning pink.

"He can't release you either," said Ginny calmly over her shoulder. "No one can."

"Come back here! You can't just leave us like this!" they both said desperately together.

She turned back around. "Don't worry boys, it'll release you in about an hour." Ginny then let out a slight laugh as she closed the door and walked down to breakfast. "I'll tell mum you said you weren't hungry.

-

Please review.


	17. Chapter 17 Prank Wars

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 17 – Prank Wars**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 10 – Mayhem at the Ministry

After breakfast, Harry and Ginny went for a walk outside. "Harry," said the redhead. "We're going to have to be careful around the twins."

He nodded, smiling. "I know. They'll definitely try to get revenge on us. They'll turn this into a war."

"A prank war?" she chuckled. "Sounds like fun! We should probably start planning our next prank now so that we'll have time for revenge when they manage to get us."

-

In the meantime, Fred and George had finally gotten out of their beds. "This means war!" said Fred jovially.

"What should we so to them that they'll even notice?" asked George. "They're so busy snogging all the time."

"Snogging," said Fred triumphantly.

-

That afternoon, Harry and Ginny were sitting in her bedroom talking. Hermione was outside reading some new book.

"Ginny," said Harry, as he set down his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Yes."

"I've been thinking about my dad and Sirius. They became animagi without the help of any teacher, and without letting even the ministry know. I think I'd like to do that."

"That sounds exciting," said the redhead, smiling, putting down her glass. "Do you think you'd be a stag like your father? It would match your patronus."

He shrugged. "I don't know. It would be cool. Either way, if I can become an animal, it'll be something else I'd have in common with my father."

"If you don't mind, Harry, I'd like to do it too," she said, nervously. "I'd like to share the experience with you."

Harry smiled at his girlfriend. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He then leaned forward and kissed her passionately.

They snogged for a few minutes, thoroughly enjoying themselves. It wasn't until they were trying to separate that they encountered the problem. Their lips were locked together. They couldn't come apart. It was like they were glued together at the mouth. Their formerly closed eyes went wide open at the same moment as a fear took them over. They immediately started panicking, trying to push each other away. They were unable to speak to each other, only grunt. The only way they could breath was through their noses. They tried getting up off her bed, which took about two minutes of concentrated effort. They couldn't look directly where they were going, and soon tripped on a box and fell together, their lips pulling painfully at each other, yet still locked. When they finally landed with Harry on top of Ginny, the door burst open, revealing a smiling pair of twins.

"Don't you two ever stop kissing?" laughed Fred.

"It's like your lips are glued together!" gloated George.

At that moment, both Harry and Ginny lost their tempers and tried to get up. Unfortunately, they were trying to go opposite directions and ended up falling down before they'd gotten up. They both grunted loudly at this, causing Fred and George to burst out laughing.

"Don't worry sis," said Fred.

"The potion we mixed into the pumpkin juice," said George.

"Will only last three hours," said Fred.

"You should be able to separate," said George.

"About ten minutes after dinner starts," said Fred.

"I can't wait to see mum's face," said George.

"When she finds out you're late for dinner," said Fred.

"Because you're too busy snogging," said George.

Harry and Ginny had both gotten pinker with every word Gred and Forge said, and by now both their faces were redder than Ginny's hair. They both glared at the twins with the eye that could see them, and gave the twins the same rude hand gesture at the same moment, causing the twins to burst out laughing yet again.

"Watch your language, little sister," said Fred.

"What would mum say?" said George. With that, they left and closed the door behind them.

Moving their heads to communicate to each other, they managed to get themselves back into Ginny's bed without falling again. They mutually realized that there was nothing they could do until it wore off. At this point, they didn't even want to snog. After about a half hour of sitting up staring at each other's eyes, they were interrupted by Ron opening the door. "He took one disgusted look at them, shook his head, and said, "Don't you guys ever stop?" and slammed the door, leaving them alone again.

An agonizing hour later, they heard a light knock on the door. About thirty seconds later, an embarrassed-looking Hermione opened the door, walked in, and closed it. When she saw them both looking at her with one eye, she nervously began speaking. "Er, guys. I know how you feel about each other, but er, aren't you, er, afraid you're getting too, er, passionate? I mean, Ron told me that you were snogging in here an hour ago, and you're still at it. I mean, you won't even separate to speak to me, which by the way is very rude." They grunted. "I'm, er, afraid that if you keep this up, you might forget yourselves and do something you're, well, not ready or old enough for, yet."

They both grunted loudly at this, and started waving their hands at Hermione.

"What's wrong? Why won't you even separate to speak to me?" said a confused-looking Hermione. Ginny then moved her hands to imitate writing. "You, you want me to get you a quill and parchment?" Ginny nodded, bumping her head into Harry's.

After Hermione had gotten an ink bottle, quill, and parchment, Ginny managed to write in barely legible handwriting, "Can't separate lips. Fred + George."

Hermione paled. "You can't separate you lips? Fred and George did this to you? How long have you been stuck together?"

Harry showed her two fingers.

"Two, two hours?" They both nodded into each other. Hermione was horrified.

"Did they tell you how much longer you'll be stuck like this?" Harry put up one finger, then another. "One, two. Do you mean one or two hours more?" Harry nodded and Ginny moved with him to avoid being bumped again. "Don't those idiots know that your lips will be so chapped you'll want to peel them off? You'll probably never want to kiss again after this!" She sighed. "Do you want me to stay here with you, or leave you alone. One finger is for me to stay, two fingers is for me to leave." Both victims put up two fingers, so she left, closing the door behind her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry and Ginny heard Molly Weasley's voice shouting, "Harry, Ginny, come on down here! It's time for dinner!"

Then they heard Hermione's voice saying, "Why don't I go find them?" They then heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The door swung open, revealing their brunette friend. "Hi, you two. I spoke to Fred and George. After I got them to admit what they'd done, they told me that you should be released in…" She looked at her watch. "…two minutes. I have some magical chapsticks that should help you to heal, but I doubt you'll be able to deny that you've been kissing a lot." She sat on the bed with them, handing the one to each of them. After a minute of silence, their lips separated, accompanied by the sound of a suction cup being pulled off. They both took deep breaths through their mouths and immediately put their hands on their lips as they winced from the pain of air touching such dry lips. They then applied the chapstick very liberally.

When they were done with that, they both said together, "I'm gonna kill Fred and George!"

Dinner was an unpleasant affair as Mrs. Weasley noticed Harry flinch as a piece of bread touched his lips. She said, "Hey Harry, what's wrong with your lips?" Harry, Ginny, and Hermione all glared at Fred and George while Mrs. Weasley examined his lips, and then instinctively turned to examine Ginny's lips. What followed was a fifteen minute lecture on self restraint, wherein Mrs. Weasley said she was giving them too much latitude while the twins kept straight faces. Things didn't improve after dinner as Mr. Weasley took Harry to his workshop and gave him 'the talk' stressing that they need to restrain themselves before they end up in trouble. When he got back, he found out that Mrs. Weasley had done the same thing to Ginny.

That night Fred and George put an impenetrable charm around their room (illegal since they were underage, but the ministry can't detect who did what anyway) so that Harry and Ginny couldn't prank them. This didn't surprise them at all. When Fred and George cautiously opened their door and slowly crept out, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione (who thought the twins had gone too far this time) were watching them from under the invisibility cloak. As soon as the twins were out of site, Hermione came out from under the cloak and performed a spell on the twins' door, which opened immediately. They all went into the twins room to implement phase two of the plan, knowing that phase one would be complete in exactly eight minutes.

Seven minutes later, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione came down to the breakfast table, where the rest of the Weasleys were already seated. Mrs. Weasley put a stack of pancakes, pan of scrambled eggs, a plate of sausage, and a stack of toast in the center of the table, followed by a pitcher of pumpkin juice. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were the first to start piling food on their plates. They even beat Ron. When Fred went to get some, he dropped his fork on the floor. When he went to pick it up, he banged his head on the table.

George stuck a fork through six pancakes, but four of them fell to the floor before he got them onto his plate. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione's looking down and covering their mouths did not go unnoticed by the twins. Fred then tried again, this time managing to stick his elbow into the butter dish, causing Ginny to laugh out loud. With concentrated effort, Fred managed to get some eggs onto his plate. When he tried to jab his new fork into the eggs, the plate emptied onto his lap. George, in the meantime, was trying to get some butter from the dish when the knife he was using hit the side of it, causing the dish to fall over, and catapulting the butter into George's face.

"Fred, George," shouted Mrs. Weasley. "I don't know what kind of joke you're trying to pull with this behavior, but I taught you better table manners than that! I didn't raise you to be animals! Now go to your room and clean up! You can come down when you're ready to behave like civilized human beings!" Fred and George gave a significant glance at the perpetrators both fell out of their chairs. When they got up, they stormed off into their room, tripping on the stairs as they went. Ginny, Harry, and Hermione finished as fast as they could and went straight upstairs and got under Harry's cloak again so they could watch the results of phase two.

-

"When could they have done it?" shouted Fred. He and George were in his room changing clothes out. They were afraid to try using magic to clean themselves up with because of how clumsy they'd been, although the clumsiness had seemed to wear out as soon as they got back in their room.

"We'd have felt it if a spell this strong was put on us, but the only magic we've been around today was when we released the shield around the door," said George.

"You don't suppose they could have put another spell on our shield so that we'd get clumsy as soon as we deactivated it?" said Fred.

"Granger could have!" shouted George. "Too bad she took their side instead of ours!"

"You know what that means, Gred,"

"Of course, Forge. She's now one of our targets!"

By that time, they were fully dressed, and walked confidently out of their room and headed toward the dining room. The didn't notice the transfiguration that took place as they walked through the doorway, nor the muffled laughter from down the hall.

As they approached the table, they were stopped by a furious-looking Molly Weasley. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE DOING! Where'd you get those from? Did you steal them from Ginny's room? You go back upstairs and don't come down until you're ready to act your age! And Ronald, that is not funny!"

They were confused until they noticed Ron, still at the table, laughing and pointing at their pants. Both twins looked down, and to their utter horror, they found they were both wearing pink mini-skirts over their pants. They turned around and went back upstairs to find the three pranksters standing in the hallway laughing.

"Fred, George," snickered Harry, winking, "I never realized how beautiful you both are."

"Those skirts really match your red faces," said Hermione.

"Not to mention your Weasley hair," added Ginny. All three burst out laughing. After a few minutes, the twins joined in.

"We've got to admit it," said Fred.

"This is pretty funny," said George.

"But it's not over yet," said Fred.

"We'll see who has the last laugh," said George.

"Yes we will," said Ginny defiantly.

-

Sorry it's been so long. I've been busy with my H/Hr fic. Please review.


	18. Chapter 18 Truce

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 18 – Truce**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 10 – Mayhem at the Ministry

Harry and Ginny went into her room, while Hermione went back downstairs, saying something about keeping Ron company. As soon as Harry and Ginny closed the door, Ginny pointed her wand at the door and made it imperturbable. Harry said, "Believe me Gin, I hate to say it, but my lips are still way too sore to snog you."

She blushed and said, "I know, so are mine! That's not why I wanted privacy. There are a few things I want to talk to you about."

Harry appeared curious. "Which are?"

"One is about becoming animagi, and the other is about Ron and Hermione."

He raised his eyebrows at the mention of the non-couple. "What about Ron and Hermione? They still haven't figured out their feelings yet, and I doubt they ever will."

Ginny smiled, "Exactly! That's why we've got to interfere! Maybe if we lock them together…"

"Ginny," said Harry, taking one of her hands in his, "if we lock them together, they're more likely to kill each other than snog! We have to get them to admit their feelings to each other, which just won't happen because they won't even admit it to us!"

Ginny sighed. "It would take some kind of truth serum to get them to admit their feelings, and even then they'd still need to be forced to talk to each other."

"Where would we even get something like that?" said Harry.

"Fred and George!" she said excitedly, and then frowned. "They won't help us right now, though."

Harry smiled, "They might agree to call a temporary truce to join forces with us."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask," said Ginny. "Anyway, how are we going to go about learning how to become animagi?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "I suppose any book that the Hogwarts library has on the subject would be in the restricted section. I say that we should just buy a book on our first Hogsmeade visit. I'm sure the bookstore their will have something we can use."

"Ok," said Ginny. "Do you want to talk to Gred and Forge now?"

"Might as well get it over with," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders.

Ginny undid the spell on the door, and hand-in-hand they walked to Fred and George's room. Harry knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" asked one of the twins from the other side.

"It's Harry and Ginny," said Harry. "We'd like a truce to confer with you privately."

"What about? We don't surrender. In fact, we're in the middle…"

"We'd like to make you an offer you can't refuse," said Ginny, getting frustrated.

"Fine, we'll talk to you." A second later, Fred opened the door, allowing the visitors to come in.

After they'd closed and unperturbed the door, the twins looked at the couple expectantly. Ginny said, "We want to call a truce and join forces to bring Ron and Hermione together before school starts in three days."

The twins raised their eyebrows and grinned. Harry said, "We have the beginnings of a plan, but need your skills to pull it off."

Fred said, "An interesting proposition. What is this plan?"

"We think that they'll need some sort of truth serum to admit their feelings, so we basically capture them in a room tied down, poor the stuff down their throats, and ask them if they fancy each other so that the other can hear the answer."

Ginny added, "As we said, it's only the beginning of a plan. I figured we could work out the details after we knew if you were in or out."

The twins looked at each other and seemed to communicate telepathically. George said, "We'll help you with this…"

"…but that doesn't mean we won't retaliate for the pranks you pulled this morning," said Fred.

"We still owe you for that," said George.

Harry then said, "But wouldn't it be better to combine our talents to prank people like Malfoy instead of us."

"That's an excellent idea," said Fred.

"But we first have to even the score," said George.

"We can't have you saying you won a prank war against us," said Fred.

"It would ruin our reputations," said George.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. "Fine," said Ginny. "The next time you get us, we won't retaliate as long as you don't escalate it."

"Harry will look so pretty in a pink miniskirt," said Fred, causing Harry's ears to turn pink.

"And Ginny will look quite handsome with a beard," said George, turning Ginny's face pink.

With that said, the four of them went to work on their plans, only leaving the twins rooms for meals, and then returning as soon as they were finished. Hermione noticed this, and thought it rather odd that they'd be spending so much time together right after that morning's prank.

-

The next morning everyone arrived at breakfast on time. They pleasantly chatted about the upcoming year at Hogwarts and what would be a good prank to pull on Malfoy. At a certain point, Ginny winked at Harry, who said, "Percy, are you sure Mr. Crouch did the right thing by sacking Winky? It just doesn't seem right to me."

Percy looked at Harry condescendingly as though he were explaining advanced physics to a toddler who couldn't read yet. "Harry, you have to understand that when people reach a place of respect within the ministry, they can't have servants running amok embarrassing them and marring their reputation. He was perfectly correct to sack that worthless disobedient elf."

Hermione, who had been intently listening to that exchange, glared at Percy. She yelled, "House elves aren't servants, they're slaves! I can't believe the wizarding world can be so barbaric as to condone the slavery of sentient beings simply because …" On and on she went in her tirade on house elves rights while Percy was visibly in shock at her outburst. Neither noticed Ginny quickly drop something in Hermione's drink. At the same time, Ron was so absorbed watching Hermione (not her drink) argue that he didn't notice George do the same to his drink. Hermione's speech ended only when Percy hurried away from the table, saying something about running late for work. After that, breakfast resumed normally. Eventually, when they got done eating, Ginny invited Harry, Hermione, and Ron up to her room to talk.

When they got into her room, Ginny and Hermione sat on Ginny's bed, while Ron and Harry sat on Hermione's bed. As soon as they were seated, the door, which Harry had closed on his way in, glowed pink for a second. Hermione asked, "What was that?"

"A type of privacy charm," answered Ginny quickly.

"Why do we need privacy to talk?" asked Ron. "Did Harry have another dream?"

"No Ron," said Harry. "This is about another problem in our group."

"What problem," asked Hermione, looking concerned.

"You and Ron," answered Ginny.

"Us?" asked both of the accused at the same time.

"I know we sometimes argue, but honestly there's no serious problem," said Hermione.

"Ron," said Harry smirking, "Do you fancy Hermione?" Hermione hid her pink face in her hands.

Ron's ears went pink. "W-Why are you asking that question," said Ron angrily. Of course I do, I mean I dooo. What is wrong with me? Why can't I say I doooo!" He covered his mouth with his hands.

"Hermione," asked Ginny with a smile on her face, "Do you fancy Ron?"

Her face turned red. "How can you ask me that? I don't know why you think I fancy him, but I doooo. I mean I doo! What have you done to us to make us say that we fancy each other!"

Harry answered. "We gave you truth serum."

"What!" screamed both Ron and Hermione at the same time.

"We knew we had to find a way to get you to stop denying your feelings, so we got Fred and George to help us make a truth serum for you, and we slipped it into your drinks during Hermione's 'elf rights' speech."

The two victims just sat there staring silently at Harry and Ginny. Harry finally broke the silence. "Now both of you have admitted you fancy each other. Ginny and I are going to leave you two alone for a while. I suggest you take advantage of this time."

Ginny smiled. "By snogging each other senseless." Ginny pointed her wand at the door and released the charm. Then Harry and Ginny left the room, closing the door behind them.

As soon as they were in the hall, Fred and George accosted them. "Did it work?" they asked together.

"Perfectly," answered Ginny.

"Good," said Fred.

"Because we cursed that door to make you two incapable of helping anyone for the next three hours," said George.

"Don't worry, it won't affect Ron," said Fred.

"But it will affect Hermione when she leaves the room," said George.

"The affect should start in fifteen seconds," said Fred.

"Have a nice day, and this will make us even," said George as they both walked away.

Harry and Ginny stared at each other in horror, waiting for whatever the twins had done to them. Harry noticed Ginny's problem first. "Ginny, it looks like you're growing whiskers, I mean a beard, I mean, wow!" At this point Ginny had a long auburn beard down to her waist, and it was still growing.

She pointed at Harry's chest and said, "Oh my God! You've got, I mean, they're bigger than…"

Harry looked down at his chest to see that his shirt, which thankfully had been big on him, was being pushed out in front of him by two huge boobs. They both ran into Ron's room to hide until the affects went away.

-

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	19. Chapter 19 Dress Robes and Jealousy

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 19 – Dress Robes and Jealousy**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 10 – Mayhem at the Ministry

The next few days went rather peacefully since the truce. Harry managed to talk Ginny out of retaliating for the last prank Fred and George had pulled on them. Ron and Hermione were spending a lot of time together, leaving Harry and Ginny alone to do the same.

The day before they were to leave for Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley brought Harry and Ron the clothes she'd purchased while they were at the world cup, including something they didn't expect. Both Harry and Ron had a nice set of brand new dress robes. Harry's were bottle green and Ron's were black. "What are these for?" asked Ron."

"Your school letters said you needed dress robes for formal occasions," said Mrs. Weasley. "You're just lucky we could afford them. If we'd had to buy Ginny new Hogwarts' robes, you'd have been stuck with the most ghastly robes I've ever seen."

"How come you didn't have to buy Ginny new robes?" asked Ron. "I thought she got taller this year."

"Because Harry was kind enough to let Ginny have his robes from last year since he can't use them anymore. It only took a few small adjustments to make them fit her."

"So now Ginny's wearing Harry's robes?" asked Ron, appearing aggravated.

"It was either that or chuck them in the rubbish bin," said Harry defensively.

"Fine," said Ron sarcastically, "The great 'Harry Potter' saves the day yet again!" Harry's ears went pink.

"Ronald Weasley!" shouted Ron's mum, "How dare you behave so rudely toward Harry when all he has done is a small favor to your family! You don't even deserve..."

Harry sneaked out of the room as fast as he could while Mrs. Weasley told off her youngest son. This was even worse than the howler she'd sent Ron during their second year. When he got out of the room, he noticed Ginny was coming closer to the room with a smile on her face, apparently eavesdropping. "Ginny Weasley," said Harry with his hands on his hips, imitating her mother. "Are you trying to listen in on your brother's punishment?"

She put her head down in mock shame. "I just wanted to find out what he's in trouble for this time."

He took her hand and made her walk with him down the stairs. "I think he's mad that you got my old school robes."

"What? He wouldn't get mad if we bought them second hand from a store, so why shouldn't I get them from you instead?"

"Well, er," said Harry nervously with his head down. "Your mum kind of said that she wouldn't have been able to buy him nice dress robes if I hadn't given you my school robes, and he started talking about the great 'Harry Potter' saving the day and some rubbish like that."

"What is wrong with that git?" exclaimed Ginny. "He's still jealous of your money! I thought he'd stop being so petty once he got together with Hermione!"

Harry chuckled, "Give the girl some time to work. I mean he's only been dating Hermione for a few days."

"What about me?" asked Hermione, who looked up from the book she was reading upon hearing her name mentioned.

"Oh," said Harry grinning, "Ginny thinks you haven't improved Ron fast enough. I reminded her that you've only had a few days to work on him."

Hermione sighed, "What's Ron done now?"

-

Later that night, a harassed-looking Ron came down the stairs and gave a half-hearted apology to Harry in front of his glaring mother. Inwardly Harry wondered why some parents demand that their children apologize for things they're clearly not sorry about, but he went along with it, accepting the fake apology and playing Ron in a game of wizard's chess, which he almost won. Ron was surprised by Harry's improvement and asked, "When did you learn to play like that?"

Harry smiled, "Ginny's been giving me lessons. I think I'll be able to beat you at least once before Christmas."

Ron's face turned red. "Ginny's been giving you chess lessons. No doubt in exchange for your robes! What else has my little sister been giving you?"

"What is your problem today," asked Harry, clearly upset.

"My problem is that we don't need charity from you! And I don't like you trying to buy my little sister..."

"Ronald Weasley," came Hermione's voice, sounding very much like Mrs. Weasley. Her face was completely red. "What do you think you're doing? Harry has never been anything but kind to you and your family, and he has never mistreated your sister! So stop trying to accuse your best friend of acting like Malfoy and admit your problem! You are jealous of Harry!"

"I am not!" shouted Ron.

"And the stupid thing about it is that he hates his fame, and he'd give his whole inheritance away without a second thought to have what you've got – a family that loves you!" With that said, Hermione stormed out of the house, her eyes full of unshed tears.

Everybody in the room started staring at Ron, whose face was now pale, wondering what he would do. He looked at Harry. "I, er, guess I owe you an apology mate. I just..."

"Don't worry about it mate," said Harry, "but I think you should go after Hermione."

"Er," said Ron. "I guess so." He then turned around and went out the same door she'd gone out.

-

The next day things were back to normal when Harry went down to breakfast to find Mrs. Weasley talking to Amos Diggory's head, which appeared to be in the fireplace. Harry didn't pay too much attention to what was being said, except that he needed to speak to Mr. Weasley, who left as soon as he was done speaking to Mr. Diggory. They took three muggle taxis to King's Cross Station, went through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, and boarded the Hogwarts Express for what promised to be a most interesting year.

-

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	20. Chapter 20 Getting Back to School

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 20 – Getting Back to School**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 11 – Aboard the Hogwarts Express

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione quickly found an empty compartment onboard the train, and sat down.

"Ginny," asked Hermione, "What new classes are you starting this year?"

"Oh," she said, "I signed up for Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Ruins. Ron and Harry warned me about Divination with Trelawney. As Harry's girlfriend, I'd probably be the one with the Grim this year." The others nodded in agreement as a blonde girl with a dazed expression wearing Ravenclaw robes and a string of butterbeer corks hanging around her neck entered the compartment.

"Hello Ginny, Harry. Is it alright if I sit here?" the girl said. "The Ravenclaw third years don't want me sitting with them."

"Of course you can sit here, er," Harry racked his brain, trying to remember the girl Ginny had introduced him to at the World Cup, "Luna isn't it," replied Harry, earning a quick glare from Ron.

"We were hoping that you and your father got away without being hurt during the Death Eater attack," said Ginny.

"Oh," said Hermione, who'd never met the girl, "You were at the World Cup. Harry and Ginny must've seen you when they went off alone to, er…"

"Snog," supplied Luna. "I saw them while they were sneaking toward the forest, and Ginny introduced me to Harry before pulling him behind the trees to snog." Harry and Ginny looked down as their ears turned pink at this statement. "I'm Luna Lovegood and you are Hermione Granger, and that's Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother. Judging by the way you're holding his hand, I'd say that you two are finally dating." Now it was Ron and Hermione's turn to slightly blush. "Er, yes Luna, we are dating. So your family got away fine from the Death Eaters?"

"We got away, but they weren't really Death Eaters. They were Mountain Trolls in disguise trying to get revenge on the muggles for not acknowledging their existence."

Hermione's eyes widened at this statement. "You can't be serious. Trolls aren't intelligent enough, they're too big, and they can't do magic."

"That's what they'd like you to think," said Luna calmly. "Actually mountain trolls are extremely intelligent and magical. Not to mention they're really only the size of an average man."

"Trust us, Luna," said Ron, clearly annoyed, "Harry, Hermione, and I have seen a mountain troll up close! They are huge, stupid, and nonmagical!" Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.

Luna calmly said, "Then it must have been a baby. They grow smaller and smarter as they age. When they're about six, their magic starts to develop."

Before they could respond to this, Draco Malfoy stepped into their compartment with his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle at his side. "So Potter, I guess a celebrity like yourself can't resist trying to enter, but I'm curious if one of you Weasels or mudbloods are going to try. There is money involved after all. And who is this weird-looking Ravenclaw with the cork necklace?"

"My name's Luna Lovegood, and you are Draco Malfoy, the worst quidditch seeker at the school."

"Worst seeker!" said Draco with venom in his voice. "I'm better than Scarhead over here!"

"Then why has he always caught the snitch when you've played against each other?" Luna said calmly, causing everyone else in the compartment to laugh, including Crabbe and Goyle until Draco shot them an evil look.

"I've beaten both Diggory and Chang haven't I," he shouted at Luna as his ears went pink.

"Only after Slytherin beaters put them in the hospital wing, and Cedric Diggory beat you last year," supplied Harry, chuckling. "You actually are the worst seeker at school. It's like Hermione said in second year, you're only on the team because you bought your way in, not because of talent." Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all laughed out loud at that statement.

Draco's face went completely pink at that. "We'll see who's got talent in the tournament this year, and I don't care about the mudblood's opinion!" snarled Malfoy as the three stooges (er, Slytherins) made their way out of the compartment, slamming the door behind them, shattering the glass.

Hermione, still laughing, pointed her wand at the door and said, "Reparo," in between chuckles.

"What do you suppose Draco meant by the tournament?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know," said Harry, "and truthfully I don't care what that git was talking about anyway."

At that moment, the door to their compartment opened again, and Neville hopped in with his legs stuck together. "I was just walking and Malfoy saw me and put me in the Leg-Locker curse again! Hermione, can you do the counter-curse?"

"Of course, Neville," she said, pulling out her wand again and freeing Neville's legs, "You really need to learn to avoid him." She sighed. "Why don't you join us?"

"Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood, and I don't know your name," said Luna as Neville sat down.

"Oh, er, my name's Neville Longbottom," he said, blushing slightly.

"I should apologize for Malfoy. I got him frustrated here before he left," Luna said.

"You don't have to apologize for frustrating Draco. What did you say to him anyway?" asked Neville.

"She pointed out the fact that Draco's the worst seeker in the school," said Ginny.

"And Harry reminded him that he's only on the team because he bought Nimbus 2001's for the whole team," added Ron.

-

After leaving the train and getting past the carriage ride in the heavy rains, as well as Peeves, who'd hit Ron with a water balloon, they found themselves at the Gryffindor table (all but Luna, who'd obviously gone to the Ravenclaw table), with Colin Creevey happily announcing that his little brother Dennis was now attending the school. After a brief discussion of siblings and the houses they're sorted into, the sorting began, placing Dennis, among others, into Gryffindor. Just after Dumbledore began the feast, Nearly Headless Nick mentioned that house elves prepare the meals, so Hermione immediately stopped eating.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" asked Ginny.

"I'm not going to eat a meal prepared by slave labor!" Hermione said firmly. Harry and Ron just looked at each other for a second, and then mutually decided to stay out of it, and focused their attention back on their plates.

"You've been eating meals prepared by slave labor for the past three years!" said Ginny, just as firmly.

"But I didn't know then. Now I do!"

"So you're not going to eat for the rest of the year?" said Ginny sarcastically.

"Er," said Hermione unsurely.

"How exactly will your starving to death help?" asked Ginny.

"Er, well," said Hermione.

"There may be some way to help, I don't know. But this won't. All you'll do is make yourself sick, and it won't help the house elves one bit."

"I, I guess you're right Ginny," Hermione said as she picked her fork back up and resumed eating.

When the meal was over, Professor Dumbledore surprised everyone by announcing that the Inner-House Quidditch Cup would not take place this year. Before he could fully explain the reason for this tragedy, he was interrupted by a man with a very scarred up face and a magical eye trudging into the Great Hall with one artificial leg. After he'd made his way to the staff table and was announced as Professor Moody, Dumbledore finally announced the reason that quidditch was cancelled. "As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

-

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	21. Chapter 21  Pranking Moody

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 21 – Pranking Moody**

Starts in …

…The Goblet of Fire – Chapter 14 – The Unforgivable Curses

A week later, Fred, George, Harry, and Ginny found themselves sitting in the common room discussing the first prank that this combined group would pull. The first part of their planning process was identifying the target.

"What about Snape?" suggested Ginny. "The greasy git certainly deserves it."

"That he does, little sister," said Fred.

"But we're saving him for later," said George.

"If we want to pull a legendary prank," said Fred.

"We need to have a victim that nobody believes can be pranked," said George.

"And who is that?" asked Harry, his brow furrowed as he considered the possibilities. "Dumbledore?"

"He would be a good target, but the teacher we have in mind is the most paranoid one in the school," said Fred.

"We can't get him while he's in his office," supplied George.

"You mean Mad-Eye?" asked Ginny. The twins nodded.

"But he turned Malfoy into a ferret," said Harry, "Why should we prank him?"

"That was a wonderful thing he did," said Fred solemnly.

"But his paranoia has made him a perfect target," finished George.

"How can we get him? He's constantly vigilant! He won't even drink from anything but his own flask!" said Harry.

"Oh, we have a prank in mind," said Fred.

"We'll just need to use a good switching spell," said George.

"While someone else distracts him," said Fred.

They went over the details of their prank carefully, making sure no one overheard them. Pranking Moody would be quite difficult, and potentially dangerous if he found out who did it.

Two days later, at dinner, Harry and Ginny were sitting with Ron and Hermione, when Harry saw Fred wink at him. "Hermione," said Harry.

"Yes?" answered the brunette.

"I heard a rumor that Professor Moody was going to use house elves to demonstrate the unforgivable curses in our next class."

"What?" she said, "That's impossible! He wouldn't!"

"It is just a rumor, but he did do it with spiders, Hermione. What would stop him from doing it to elves, who would probably be honored to help teach students?" said Harry, while Ginny was keeping a straight face.

"I will!" declared Hermione, as she got up and marched straight for the staff table.

Harry then winked at Fred, who slowly pulled his wand out and waited.

Hermione walked up to the unique professor and said, "Sir, is it true that you're planning to perform the unforgivable curses on house elves?"

"What?" said Mad-Eye, with both his eyes looking at Hermione as though she were insane. Fred quickly performed his spell and turned around to continue eating. "I already demonstrated the unforgivables for the class. I was only planning to use elves to demonstrate a few minor hexes."

"What!" said a shocked Hermione. "You can't do that to them! They're sentient beings!"

"Don't worry Granger," said Moody, "None of them is lethal, and most don't leave a scar. But those are for the N.E.W.T. level anyway. You won't have to watch."

"But, but," said Hermione, and then she turned around and went back to the table. "He's not performing unforgivables on them, but he will be using them for N.E.W.T. level curses!"

Harry, who'd made up the whole thing, was genuinely surprised. "What?" he said. Ginny then tapped his shoulder, so he looked at Moody, who was just taking a swig out of his flask. What happened at that moment was not entirely what the new Marauders had expected. Moody's real eye bulged out as his skin turned blue. His magic eye started spinning out of control, and he fell off his chair and onto the ground.

-

(Dumbledore's perspective)

Everyone was looking at where Moody had been, including a very amused-looking Dumbledore. He thought that was funny. Then a hand reached up to the table to pull him up. This hand was starting to bubble. As he pulled himself, Dumbledore saw that his whole body seemed to be bubbling. He, along with a few staff members (as well as Harry, Ron, and Hermione), immediately recognized what was happening and drew their wands on whoever was impersonating Professor Moody using polyjuice potion. When the transformation was complete, Dumbledore gasped. "Bart, Barty Crouch Jr?" he softly said. Then Dumbledore, without turning his head away from the imposter, said, "Severus, please get your most powerful truth serum. Minerva, announce for the students to go to their houses."

-

(Back to Harry's perspective)

When the prefects had led all the students back to their common rooms, Fred and George had a whispered conversation with Harry and Ginny. "What happened to Moody?" said Fred.

"That part of his skin bubbling wasn't supposed to happen," said George.

"That wasn't Moody," whispered Harry.

"What?" said Fred, George, and Ginny together.

"That looked like whoever it was had taken polyjuice potion and was changing back," he said.

"Really," said Fred with a grin, "And how do you know what that looks like?"

"In our second year, Hermione brewed some, and Ron and I impersonated Crabbe and Goyle and talked to Malfoy in the Slytherin common room."

"Really?" said George proudly, "Hermione brewed that in second year?"

"And you and Ickle-Ronykins used it to get into the Slytherin dungeons?" said Fred with even more pride.

"Why?" asked Ginny.

Harry looked a bit concerned, "We, er, thought Malfoy might have been the heir of Slytherin, so we wanted to find out," he said quickly.

Ginny looked down for a second, but then looked back up. "That was amazing that Hermione did that in second year. That's a N.E.W.T. level spell."

"I'll bet that's what was in his flask," said Harry. "Do you still have it, Fred?"

"Yes, of course," Fred said, producing an identical flask.

He conjured a clear glass and poured the liquid into it. "That is definitely polyjuice potion!" declared Harry. "And if you don't believe me, you can ask Hermione, or drink it. Though I'd suggest you make sure you're in a bathroom if you do that."

-

The next morning at breakfast, Dumbledore rose up from the staff table to make an announcement behind the podium. All eyes went to him. "I'm afraid that I must make an announcement. Up until today, the man you have known as Professor Moody, was actually an imposter. He was in fact an escaped Death Eater by the name of Barty Crouch Jr. He has confessed under the influence of veritasirum in front of several witnesses, including myself and the minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge…" At this moment he pointed out Fudge with his left hand. Harry hadn't noticed him there before. Cornelius waved graciously at the next generation of voters, and Dumbledore continued, "…that he was working for Lord Voldemort in a plan to restore a body for his master. He however, does not know where his master is at this moment. He only knew where he had planned be on the day he was to complete his mission. He also confessed that he was working with another Death Eater by the name of Peter Pettigrew, who was believed to be dead. According to Crouch, Pettigrew actually committed the crimes that Sirius Black was imprisoned for. The minister has asked me to announce that if anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Sirius Black…" At this moment Dumbledore looked at Harry and slightly shook his head. "…they should immediately contact the ministry so that they can clear up this matter. Fortunately, Crouch also revealed the location he was holding the real Professor Moody, and so now he will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." Then Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled. "If it hadn't been for the prank that unknown students pulled on the fake Moody, we would probably never have seen through his disguise. I guess you could say that those pranksters actually foiled one of Voldemort's schemes.

-

That night at dinnertime, a Hufflepuff girl who appeared to be a first-year came up to Harry and handed him a note. It said,

"_If it's not too much trouble, would you meet me in my office after dinner? Miss Weasley, Miss Granger, and Mr. Ronald Weasley are also welcome if they desire to come._

_Professor Dumbledore_

_P.S. I like Chocolate Frogs_"

"Chocolate Frogs," said Ron when he showed the others the note. "Does he expect us to bring him some?"

"No," said Harry, "That's the password. This has got to be about Sirius."

-

When they got into Dumbledore's office, they found him sitting at his desk.

"Come in, come in. Please have a seat." Dumbledore motioned to four chairs in front of his desk. "First of all, I'd like you to pass my congratulations on to whoever may have helped with that prank…" He gave Harry and Ginny a piercing look, causing them to put their heads down, which did not go unnoticed by Hermione. "…whether deliberately or otherwise." He then looked at Hermione, who blushed slightly.

"Er," said Harry, looking up. "We, er, will if we find out."

"Of course," said Dumbledore with a slight chuckle. "Now, onto the more important topic of Sirius Black. I thought you'd want to be aware of what was being done regarding him."

"Yes, sir," said Harry while the others nodded.

"I have written him a letter to try to sneak to the castle. It is my wish for his interrogation to take place at Hogwarts, with myself and several others present to make sure his rights are upheld."

Harry nodded silently.

Dumbledore continued. "It is my intention that when this is over Sirius Black can rejoin the wizarding world as a free man, perhaps even compensated for the time he spent in Azkaban after being wrongly imprisoned without a trial."

-

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	22. Chapter 22  Preparations

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. 

If You Can Help Her – Chapter 22 – Preparations

"Ginny," said Hermione a week later. They were sitting in the common room while Harry and Ron were playing chess nearby.

"Yeah?" said Ginny.

"Remember how on the first day you said there might be a way to help house elves?"

"Of course," said Ginny.

"What if we formed a group for it?"

Ginny looked confused, "To do what?"

Hermione looked exasperated. "To work for elf rights. To start by making people aware of how badly elves are treated, and eventually work for their representation in the Ministry of Magic. I've been researching it in the library, and it seems their enslavement has been going on forever, and no one has done anything to stop it because, 'That's just the way it is.'"

"Hermione," said Ginny, "from what Fred and George have told me, House Elves are happy. The reason Winky was so horrified was because she was freed, not because she was enslaved."

"What are you saying then?" said Hermione, clearly frustrated, "that we, like everyone else, do nothing?"

"No," said Ginny, "I just think you should talk to actual house elves and find out what they want before you start some society. You may find out that they simply don't want the kinds of punishments that people like the Malfoys give their elves. Harry told me about how Dobby had to punish himself all the time."

"I suppose that it may be a good idea to talk to them first, but they've been brainwashed."

"Then your ideas will do nothing but scare them away. They won't want to talk to you about freedom. Now, if all you're doing is trying to improve their situation, they might warm up to that idea. If you ever achieve that, maybe some kind of law limiting punishment of elves, then maybe you can slowly work on making the elves want equal rights."

"Hmm," said Hermione thoughtfully, "It might be better to start with baby steps like that. I guess we can talk to them before we do anything."

"Fred and George should be able to help you out there. I'll ask them how to get to the kitchens."

Hermione smiled, "Thank you. Now let's talk about a name for the organization. I was thinking of calling it the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare."

Ginny stared at Hermione for a few seconds before saying, "Are you sure you're the brightest witch of your age? Everyone will call it spew! No one will take it seriously! We need a name where the initials spell out something good like, 'help' or 'care.' Hmm," she said, thinking, "I've got it, the Community for Advancing the Rights of Elves. C.A.R.E."

Hermione beamed at the redhead, "I guess care does sound better than spew."

At that moment, they were interrupted by Ron shouting at Harry, "I can't believe it!" You never beat me! I'm the best! You cheated!"

Harry started laughing, "I told you that I've been taking lessons from Ginny, the only person I've seen beat you."

"Good job, Harry," Ginny shouted, walking up to her boyfriend and kissing him on the cheek. "Do you see how red Ron's face is?" At that moment, she noticed Colin in the room with his camera. She shouted, "Come here Colin, quick! Take a picture of Ron!"

Colin apparently was very quick on his feet because he was snapping a picture before Ron could go anywhere. Ron's face was actually purple when Colin got the picture. Colin said, "What happened?"

"An historical moment," said Hermione, chuckling. "Harry Potter has just beaten Ron Weasley at chess."

"That's great Harry! I always knew you could do anything! Would you like me to take a picture of the chess board? Want to go over the game, play-by-play?"

After fifteen minutes of enduring Colin Creevey's enthusiasm, they were interrupted by a burst of flames in front of Harry's face, and a red feather, along with a note, falling underneath it. Harry caught both before they hit the ground and said, "That must have been Fawkes, Dumbledore's Phoenix."

"Wow!" said Colin. "Dumbledore sends you messages."

"Er, Colin," said Harry. "This is private."

"Er," said Colin, his face falling. "I guess I should leave you alone, huh?"

"Er, yeah, but, er thanks for taking the pictures. Let me know when they're developed!"

"Ok," said Colin excitedly, running off."

Harry then opened his letter. It said,

"_Harry,_

_Snuffles is at the castle and in my office. He's most anxious to see you and his other friends at your earliest convenience._

_Professor Dumbledore_"

Harry immediately showed it to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione, so they walked to Dumbledore's office immediately.

The password was still chocolate frogs, so they had no trouble getting into his office, where Harry was greeted by his godfather as soon as he got inside. It was a bit awkward as they stood facing each other. They couldn't seem to decide whether to shake hands or hug. Harry finally embraced Sirius.

"It's good to see you, Harry" said Sirius, "along with the rest of you as well." He shook Ron and Hermione's hands, but Ginny elected to hug her boyfriend's godfather.

"Well," came Dumbledore's voice from behind his desk. His eyes were twinkling merrily. "Now that you've properly greeted each other, I believe we should speak of this very important matter. I've convinced Minister Fudge to hold the trial in the castle, and he has agreed to not bring any dementors with him. I'm sure that he'll pull twenty aurors from their duties to protect him from one innocent man instead. I have reminded him that all four of you heard the entire explanation of what took place on the day of those murders. At the time, he was convinced that you were under the confundus charm, but if you stick to your story now, he, as well as others, may listen when each of you testify to what was said and most importantly done, in the shrieking shack. Don't speak of Sirius' escape from Hogwarts. That's irrelevant to the trial anyway. I've also invited Remus Lupin to offer testimony at the trial. The date will be September nineteenth."

"My birthday," blurted out Hermione.

"Why yes Miss Granger," said Dumbledore, "I'd forgotten. Hopefully Sirius Black will be able to celebrate it with you after the trial."

Ginny said with a smirk, "Maybe we can get the House Elves to throw you a party."

"Don't you dare make them work any more than they already do! It's slave labor!"

"I quite agree," said Dumbledore, "but most house elves are insulted if someone suggests paying them for their services. However, I have recently employed an elf that Mr. Potter is acquainted with, Dobby, to work here for wages. He wouldn't take as much as I'd offered him originally, but he is taking pay. His companion, Winky, who claims to be acquainted with all of you, wouldn't accept payment."

Hermione beamed at the news about Dobby, although her smile lessened for a moment at the mention of Winky. "Well," said Harry, "I'm glad they've both found work."

-

The next day, Hermione was in the library while Harry, Ron, and Ginny were in the Gryffindor Common room. Harry whispered at them, "I think we should plan a surprise party after the trial. It will be both for Hermione's birthday and Sirius' freedom. It should be small, just us, Hermione, Sirius, and maybe Dumbledore. That way, if something goes wrong at the trial, we can easily cancel the party, since none of us will be in a mood to celebrate."

"I think that's a great idea, Harry," said Ginny. "I guess we'll have to owl order our gifts."

-

Please review.


	23. Chapter 23 The Trial of Sirius Black

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 23 – The Trial of Sirius Black**

Harry woke up on September 19th nervous and excited about today. Sirius Black might go free today! The party for after the trial had been arranged already. If things went well, then both Sirius and Hermione would get a message to go to Dumbledore's office once everything was ready. Harry had been assured that only Dobby would help with the preparations, and would get a bonus. That way no slave labor would be involved.

He walked downstairs with a package in his hands and saw Hermione sitting by herself. Ron was still snoring the last time Harry saw him, and apparently Ginny wasn't ready yet. "Happy birthday, Hermione," said Harry.

Hermione smiled at her best friend. "Thanks. Good morning."

"I got you this present. I hope you like it." He handed her the package. They decided that the best way to surprise Hermione would be to give her their gifts before the party. That way, she'd never expect one. Besides, they didn't have gifts for Sirius, so it wouldn't be polite to hand out presents to one guest of honor and not the other.

"You shouldn't have," she said, "I know you've got to be worried about Sirius…"

"That doesn't mean my best friend doesn't deserve a birthday present."

She eagerly ripped the package open to find a muggle book on the history of slavery in different cultures, and the movements that ended it. She beamed at Harry. "Thank you, Harry!" she said excitedly, getting up and giving Harry a hug. "Maybe this will help me with C.A.R.E!"

"Hugging my boyfriend, are we?" asked Ginny with a smirk from the stairs.

Hermione, her face turning scarlet, let go of Harry immediately. "Er, I was just thanking him for my gift, Ginny. I promise I wasn't…"

"I'm kidding, Hermione!" said Ginny, handing Hermione a small package, "Happy birthday."

"Thank you."

"You might want to open that in your room, though."

"Good morning, Love," said Harry, walking up to Ginny and giving her a quick kiss.

"Morning, Harry," said Ginny.

At that moment, Ron came down and yawned loudly, not bothering to cover his mouth.

"Ronald Weasley, I know your mother taught you better manners than that," said Hermione.

"Morning 'Mione," said Ron, "What's that you've got in your hands?"

"My birthday present from Ginny," said Hermione, smiling.

"Birthday," said Ron, as a look of panic filled his face, "That's today? That means today's the trial, and I'll have to testify!"

"Of course it's today, you git," said Ginny. "Don't tell me you didn't remember your girlfriend's birthday!"

"It's alright," said Hermione softly. Her head was tilted a bit downward and her expression wasn't as happy as before. "He probably just had the days confused is all."

"Er, yeah," said Ron.

"Why don't you give Hermione her gift," suggested Harry.

Ron looked really worried. He walked up to Harry and whispered into his ear, "I, er, didn't get her a gift yet. I thought it was next week. What'll I do?"

"Ok," Harry said loudly, "I'll help you get the gift." They walked up to the boys dorm, and as soon as they were in their room, Harry shouted, "You idiot! How could you not get her a gift! You already hurt Hermione's feelings by forgetting it was her birthday, and now you don't have anything to give her! I thought you'd treat her better than this when I set you up. I ought to march downstairs and tell her the truth! The only reason I'm not doing that is because I don't want her feelings hurt worse! What do you have that you can give her?"

"Nothing," said Ron desperately. "What am I gonna do?"

"You mean besides lose your girlfriend, and make me mad at you?" Harry took a deep breath. "Fine. I have some perfume that I'd planned on giving Ginny next week. You can give Hermione that. I'll order more."

"What do you have perfume for? Ginny's birthday was in August, and Christmas isn't for ages."

Harry shook his head. "Is there something wrong with giving your girlfriend a gift without a special occasion? Don't answer that."

"Fine," said Ron, "I'll take it. How much does it cost?"

"Er, five galleons," lied Harry. It actually cost twenty.

Ron reached into his trunk. "That's all the money I have, so she'd better like it."

Harry pulled the perfume out of his trunk, tapped it with his wand while muttering an incantation. Wrapping paper appeared on it. Harry handed it to Ron, who hurried down the stairs, followed by Harry. Ron handed it to Hermione and said, "I misplaced it, and Harry helped me find it."

When Hermione opened it, her eyes bulged out. "Oh, thank you Ron!" She immediately threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately.

Ginny looked at the perfume, at Ron, and then at Harry. She said, "Harry, why don't we go for a walk before breakfast starts and leave the happy couple alone?"

"Sure," said Harry, and taking her hand.

They walked in silence until they were outside and alone. Ginny said, "Ron didn't get her a gift, did he?"

Harry's ears turned red. "Er, I don't know…"

"Don't lie to me, Potter," she said, "He'd have never been able to afford that perfume. You must have given it to him."

"No, he paid…"

"A lot less than it cost you, I'll bet. Why did you have it anyway? There's no special occasion coming up."

"Ron asked the same thing," said Harry with a smirk, "The truth is that Pansy Parkinson's birthday…ouch"

She lightly slapped his arm and said, "The truth."

"I just felt like giving you something nice. Is that a crime? I'll order more for you. I couldn't let Ron ruin Hermione's birthday. Did you see how happy she was?"

Ginny put her arms around Harry's waist. "You are without a doubt the most wonderful guy in the world. Not just to your girlfriend, but even to your other friends. But you can't always bail Ron out of trouble with Hermione. He has to learn to treat Hermione right himself if he wants to keep her. She deserves a boyfriend that treats her the way you treat me."

"I know, I just saw how hurt she was by his forgetting it was her birthday, and I didn't want to see her hurt more today."

"I understand. I guess I should be glad that she's not your girlfriend. You knew her for nearly two years before you noticed me."

"I hope we don't have to go through that again," Harry said smiling. "You're my girlfriend, and I couldn't be happier. That's why I bought that perfume. To try to show you how happy you've made me."

She then stood on her toes and said, "Let me try to show you how happy you make me," and she proceeded to snog him senseless.

-

The quartet was sitting in the Great Hall, and had just finished eating breakfast when ten aurors in uniform walked into the room, wands out. All the students were watching them as they visually scanned the area. One of them sent a patronus in the form of a donkey racing out the door they'd just entered. The door opened again, and three aurors walked in followed immediately by Cornelius Fudge with an auror on either side of him, followed by five more aurors. Harry whispered to Ginny, "Dumbledore was exactly right. Twenty aurors." Ginny giggled.

Professor Dumbledore walked up to the podium as other ministry officials, as well as the entire Wizengamot, started coming in. "Hogwarts would like to welcome the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who has come, along with other ministry officials, to oversee the trial of Sirius Black. Hogwarts is hosting this trial because Sirius Black has requested sanctuary here until after his trial. I would appreciate it if anyone here who has not been requested to be a part of this trial would finish their breakfast as quickly as possible and vacate this hall so that we can make preparations. Lunch will be served in the house common rooms at eleven o'clock today, and the trial will begin at noon. Anyone wishing to witness the trial may return at that time. If you choose to attend the trial, you must take a seat and sit quietly throughout the entire proceeding. If you don't consider yourself capable of that, then I suggest you find other activities to take up your time."

Within five minutes, all of the students except for Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were gone. Harry noticed Remus Lupin walk into the hall and got up to walk toward him. He was stopped by an auror, who said, "The witnesses shall not converse until after the trial is over." He then noticed his friends being separated by other aurors.

One of the ministry officials stood behind the podium and announced, "All witnesses will be escorted to separate rooms to wait until they are called upon. After their testimony is given, they may remain for the rest of the trial, or leave quietly. After this announcement, the auror that had spoken to him earlier took him by the hand and practically dragged Harry to a nearby classroom. He said, "Sit."

After Harry sat, the auror closed the door. A few seconds later, he saw the door glow yellow for a second. Harry said to no one, "I guess I'm locked in. At least Snape is too. Too bad Hermione has to spend part of her birthday like this."

After about ten minutes, the door glowed and then opened, revealing the auror, followed by the ministry official who'd made the announcement earlier, who was carrying a clear glass sphere. She said, "Hello, my name is Madam Bones. This is called a thought sphere. Are you familiar with pensieves?"

Harry shook his head. "No, Madam Bones."

She sighed, "Well, both this and pensieves offer ways to watch people's memories. With your permission, we're going to watch your memory of the night you met Sirius Black, from the time you met him until you were finished speaking with him, presumably after Mr. Lupin went through his transformation. After we've watched those events, we'll call you into the court, I mean the Great Hall, to discuss them. Do we have your permission?"

"Er, yes. What do I do?"

"I'll put my wand to your head, and you start thinking about everything that happened from the time you entered the so-called 'Shrieking Shack.'"

She then proceeded, and Harry concentrated on how the truth had come out, and made sure not to think of anything that happened afterward. When he reached the end, he said, "That's it," and she put the long silver string of thought into the crystal.

She left, saying, "Thank you." The guard followed and resealed the door.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, during which Harry paced the room, sat down, ate lunch that appeared in front of him, and paced the room again, the door opened and the auror said, "Come," and grabbed Harry's hand and about pulled him into the Great Hall, having him sit in a chair facing everyone from the ministry, with Fudge in the middle. He'd noticed that Dumbledore, Lupin, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were already in the room.

Cornelius said, "Mr. Harry Potter, you will now be given veritaserum to insure that you tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth during these proceedings. Do you accept that?"

"Yes sir," said Harry.

After an auror handed him a vial, and he drank it, Harry didn't feel any differently, except that he knew he had to be completely honest.

Fudge said, "We have watched your recollections of the events of the night you met Sirius Black. Isn't it true you were confunded during those events?"

"No sir," said Harry, "Professor Snape said that Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and myself had all been confunded because we disagreed with what he said. You believed him instead of the four of us. You planned on having the Dementor's kiss performed on Sirius Black before you even waited for Professor Lupin's testimony."

"That's quite enough insolence out of you," snapped Fudge. "I think that…"

Amelia Bones interrupted him, "Harry Potter is simply stating what happened. What he said is a matter of public record that has already been established by testimony from his three classmates, Professor Dumbledore, as well as Madam Pomfrey, who witnessed the conversation. You did dismiss the testimony of four people in favor of one person who as a matter of public record used to be a Death Eater before turning spy. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is the hero of our world, and Hermione Granger is the top student of her year. The Weasley siblings are members of a highly respected family. Their father is in fact the head of a ministry department. You were going to give a man a fate worse than death while refusing to hear a word in his defense. He hadn't even had a trial to begin with. You could have at least delayed the kiss until after the children could be tested for any sign of bewitchment, as well as given time for Mr. Lupin to give his version of events."

A lot of whispering began among the Wizengamot, as Fudge's face went from red to purple. He finally said, "Did you actually see the rat known as Scabbers transform into Peter Pettigrew, and then see Pettigrew escape?"

"Yes sir," said Harry.

"How many fingers did Pettigrew have?" asked Fudge quickly.

"Nine, sir. He was missing one. As a rat he was also missing a toe."

"Why did you attack a teacher?" asked Fudge.

"Because Professor Snape wanted Black to receive the Dementor's kiss without getting a chance to explain himself."

"Given the chance, would you have attacked me the same way?" asked Fudge with venom in his eyes.

"Yes, sir," said Harry, looking Fudge in the eyes.

"So you think you're more fit to judge right and wrong than me?"

"Sir, you showed me that you have absolutely no interest in justice by refusing to listen to anyone who disagreed with you. You were willing to have Sirius' soul sucked out before he ever had a trial! All that you're interested in is looking like a 'good leader' to the public by catching Sirius! You didn't even care whether he was innocent or guilty! Since you don't give a damn about right and wrong, I am more fit to judge it than you, sir," yelled Harry, earning more whispering from the ministry officials.

"We have no further questions. You may step down," yelled Fudge, while Amelia Bones was smiling. She winked at Harry before he got up.

Harry got up and walked over to Ginny, sitting down next to her. She whispered, "You're not the only one who's insulted Fudge's handling of that affair. All of us, including Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey have brought up how he refused to listen to anyone who disagreed with him."

Harry smiled at her but said nothing as Snape's memories, showing three minutes of spying, as well as how he absolutely refused to listen to an explanation from anyone, and how he'd intended on calling the Dementors to Black instead of taking him to the castle, which caused the students to attack him. Then it showed him in the hospital wing declaring how the four should have been thanking him on bended knee while he claimed they were bewitched."

When it was over, Snape was escorted to the stand and drank veritaserum. Fudge said, "Professor Snape, we have watched your recollections, which included four students attacking you."

"Yes minister. Those students, who shouldn't have been out of bounds anyway, should have received the Dementor's kiss."

"Didn't you say they were confunded?" asked Madam Bones, earning a glare from Fudge.

"Yes, but that was to convince the stupid minister to ignore them," said Snape, sneering. "I convinced that imbecile that they were confunded simply because they said Sirius Black was innocent, and that Pettigrew was guilty," said Snape. Fudge was hiding his face.

Bones then asked, "Isn't it true that you had a history of animosity with Sirius Black, and that could have biased you against him?"

"Of course it is!" answered Snape. "I've always hated Black and Lupin, but James Potter was the worst! I'm glad Potter's dead, but now I have to put up with his son! I've known Pettigrew was the traitor from before I became a spy; I just wanted Black to get the kiss because of a joke he played on me when we were students!"

Fudge's and Dumbledore's, as well as several others' eyebrows raised at this statement. Harry felt Ginny put her hand on his shoulder, as if to stop him from getting up right now and attacking Snape.

"Do you mean that you've known that an innocent man was being held in Azkaban for twelve years without doing anything about it?" asked Fudge.

"Actually, I've laughed when I've thought about it, so you can't say I did nothing," said Snape.

"I-I-er, believe we've heard quite enough testimony from you, Snape," said Fudge, who looked ill.

"I believe it would be prudent for an auror to escort Professor Snape to Azkaban. He may try to make a break for it when the veritaserum wears off, but I believe that we'll want to try him for obstruction of justice when these proceedings are over," said Madam Bones.

Harry had a hard time not laughing when an auror bound Snape and led him away.

They then watched Sirius' discussion with James about making Pettigrew Secret-Keeper, as well as his confrontation the day after the Potters' death. He also showed the same meeting in the Shrieking Shack that the court had seen several times before. When Sirius finally emerged and was given Veritaserum, Madam Bones, instead of Fudge, said, "We have seen your memories, which indicate that Peter Pettigrew was the Potters' Secret-Keeper, and that he betrayed them to you-know-who, and then killed all those muggles, framing you for it. Is that true?"

"Yes," said Sirius.

Bones continued, "After the testimony we've already heard, I believe we can have a vote right now, if it's alright with the minister." Fudge, who's face was turning blue, nodded. "All right, all who believe that Sirius Black is innocent of all charges and should therefore be immediately released, raise your hand." Every hand went up, including Fudge's and a woman who resembled a toad, although those two seemed reluctant to vote. Bones continued, "Carried. All who believe that Sirius Black should be rewarded one hundred thousand Galleons along with an apology for the serious miscarriage of justice that has been done to him, raise your hand." All but Fudge and the toad-woman voted in favor. "Carried. Now, all who believe that Severus Snape should be tried for obstruction of justice, raise your hand." All hands went up. "Carried. Now all who believe that Minister Fudge should be removed from office because of his serious miscarriage of justice and therefore wish to give him a vote of no-confidence, raise your hands." All but five hands went up.

Fudge shouted, "You can't do this to me," until an auror pointed his wand at the former minister.

Amelia Bones continued, "All who believe that Cornelius Fudge should be tried for obstruction of justice and misconduct by ignoring the legal system and sentencing a man who'd never had a trial to the Dementor's kiss, raise your hand." Every hand that still had a vote (which now didn't include Fudge) went up. "Carried." The auror who'd pointed his wand at Fudge was now making him get up. "I believe it would be prudent for this counsel to immediately appoint a temporary Minister of Magic until a public vote can be arranged. Does any member of the Wizengamot have a suggestion?"

"Why not yourself, Madam Bones," said Professor Dumbledore. There was much muttering of ascent.

Her ears turned pink. "If you wish, I will of course abstain from voting. All in favor of my becoming acting Minister of Magic, raise your hand." About two-thirds voted yes. Her face turned pink. "Er, well, that's a vast majority. I thank you for the confidence you've shown in me, and I'll do my best to fill in until we can arrange a popular vote. For now, this meeting is adjourned."

-

Please review. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers for the compliments I have received for this story. Next chapter, the party.


	24. Chapter 24 The Aftermath

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 24 – The Aftermath**

After the trial, Sirius Black came up to Harry excited and threw his arms around him, "I'm free! I can't tell you how thankful I am!"

Harry smiled as he hugged his godfather. "Actually, I just testified. The people you really want to thank are Fred and George Weasley. Pranking Moody was their idea. I only provided a diversion."

Sirius chuckled, "Dumbledore didn't know the details of the prank. What exactly happened?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Well, Moody was always drinking only from his own flask. We now know it was polyjuice potion in there. I told Hermione that Mad-Eye was planning on performing unforgivable curses on house elves in front of a class, so she marched up to him and tried to talk him out of it. Then I gave the twins the signal. One of them, I'm not sure which, performed a switching spell with Moody's flask, giving him an identical flask filled with a joke product. However, when he drank from the flask, it was because he needed polyjuice to keep his form. He changed back to Crouch Jr. in front of everybody, and was immediately captured."

Sirius chuckled, "If it hadn't been for that joke, I'd still be a fugitive."

Lupin, who'd walked up during the conversation and overheard it said, "We ought to induct you, Fred, and George into the Marauders."

"Only if you include Ginny," said Harry, "She was part in on the planning, and is quite a talented prankster in her own right. Fred and George were in a prank war with Ginny and I toward the end of last summer. Before school started, we decided to join forces."

Sirius said in a mock reverent voice, "The age of a new generation of Marauders dawns."

Harry rounded up Ginny, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione, and all of them hung out together talking and joking. The older Marauders particularly enjoyed the stories from the prank war. Hermione rolled her eyes as Lupin and Black laughed when they heard about the 'kissing prank' as Fred and George called it. Ginny commented, "It took us weeks before we were comfortable snogging again," causing all but Hermione to laugh. She was obviously fighting back the urge to laugh, and only chuckled slightly.

Dumbledore arrived during this fit of laughter with a grim expression on his face. "I hate to interrupt this well-disserved recreation, but there is an urgent matter that we all need to speak of in my office. Hermione and Sirius seemed especially concerned as the now somber group headed toward Dumbledore's office. At the mention of, 'Canary Cremes,' the gargoyle moved, revealing the entrance to the headmaster's office. Fred and George exchanged confused looks at the headmaster's password. He looked at the twins and said, "I've heard tales of your inventions from your mother."

When the door to the office opened, Dobby (who was wearing a brand new purple sweater with a 'D' on it); along with Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati; shouted, "Surprise!"

Albus then turned and said with a broad smile and a twinkle in his eyes, "This is a party to celebrate both Sirius Black's freedom and Hermione Granger's birthday. Harry, I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of inviting a few more people after the trial was over."

"Not at all," said Harry, grinning broadly at the look on both Sirius and Hermione's face.

Hermione turned to Harry and said, "You knew?"

"Miss Granger," said Albus, "It was Harry's idea."

Hermione hugged Harry and said, "Thank you!"

Ginny said with a grin, "That's twice today you've hugged my boyfriend. Maybe I should be worried."

Hermione quickly hugged Ginny and joked, "I'm only borrowing him for the day," causing Ron's face to turn red as Hermione, Harry, and Ginny laughed.

As they walked into the spacious office Ron said, "I don't think it was that funny."

Hermione looked at her boyfriend. "I was only joking, Ron. I didn't mean anything by it. I'd never try to hurt your feelings, especially after that expensive, thoughtful gift."

Ron grinned proudly, "Five Galleons was a bit steep, but the look on your face was worth it."

Harry and Ginny looked at the ground and started sneaking away, while Hermione said, "You don't have to lie about the price, Ron. I know that it cost at least twenty Galleons. I don't know how you saved the money for it, but I'm thankful."

Ron's face turned purple and he glared at Harry. "Twenty Galleons? Thought your stupid, poor friend wouldn't know the difference? You're right, I don't know perfume prices. I'll bet you had quite a laugh this morning! You probably told…"

"Ron," said Hermione, whose eyes were filling with tears because she'd figured out what happened, "stop yelling! You're making a fool of yourself."

"That's what I am, isn't it," yelled Ron, "a fool who believed Harry…"

"Ron," said Harry, "I wasn't trying to make a fool of you! I just wanted to stop you from ruining Hermione's birthday, like you're trying to do right now!"

"Yeah, well maybe since I'm ruining everything I should just leave!"

"I think that would be best, Ronald," said Hermione, trying to remain calm.

After Ron stormed out of there, slamming the door, Hermione turned to Harry. "I, I don't know whether to be angry with you or thankful for what you tried."

Ginny said, "You should be thankful. He was only trying to stop Ron from hurting you."

"You? Oh my God," whispered Hermione as a few tears started falling down her cheeks. "That perfume was supposed to be for you. It's the only explanation! I used a little today, but Ginny, I'll give you the rest. I'm sorry for ruining Harry's surprise. Harry gives me your gift and I start hugging him. I, I swear…"

"Hermione," said Ginny, "Don't worry about it. I trust Harry. I made a complete fool of myself when I didn't trust him, and you made me listen to his explanation. I learned my lesson. Keep the perfume, Harry promised to buy me more. In the meantime, don't let Ron's stupidity ruin this party."

Hermione performed a spell on her face that took away all evidence of tears, and said, "Yes, let's enjoy this party that my best friend, who by the way spent way too much money and effort on me, arranged."

Harry and Ginny walked over to Sirius and Lupin while Hermione mingled with others like Hagrid. "That was some trial," said Harry.

"I especially enjoyed Harry's testimony," said Ginny, "about how Fudge refused to listen to anybody but Snape and didn't care about justice."

"Harry said that?" asked Sirius.

"I had to tell the truth. They made me drink veritaserum. I enjoyed and hated Snape's testimony. He knew Peter was the spy before my parents died!"

Sirius' face darkened, "He what? I always knew Snivellus was no good, but to hold back that information just because he was mad at me…"

"Allowing an innocent man to go to Azkaban for life, and then trying to make sure he gets the dementor's kiss before he can talk to anybody seems cruel even for Snape. I wonder why Dumbledore believed he was on our side."

"I wonder if he still believes it," said Sirius.

"What I don't get," said Ginny, "Is why the potions master didn't have an antidote for the veritaserum."

"There is none," said Lupin. "It wouldn't be very reliable if there were one, would it? Time is the only cure."

"Even if there were an antidote," said Sirius, "I don't think they told anybody they were going to use veritaserum until they were on the witness stand. I insisted upon that," he said with a grin, "so that people like Snape would have no warning. Anyway Harry, do you remember the conversation we had just before Remus' 'furry little problem' showed up on the night we met?"

Harry's eyes lit up with hope. "You mean about living with you?"

"Yes, Harry. Now that I'm free, if you'd like, I'll apply to become your legal guardian. I have a house, it's probably filthy knowing my family's house elf, but I'll bet I can fix it up nice before school gets out. I may even have it ready by Christmas, definitely by Easter Break."

Harry grinned broadly. "That sounds great! I can't wait to move there!"

Ginny then moved closer to them and said in a conspiratorial voice, "There's something Harry and I were planning on doing on our own, but with you free, maybe you can help us."

"What's that?" whispered Sirius, obviously aware that this was to be a private conversation.

"Harry and I want to become unregistered animagi," she whispered back.

First there was a look of shock on Sirius' face that lasted a few seconds before he grinned broadly. "What have you done so far?"

"Well," said Harry, "Nothing yet. We were planning on buying a book to study at the first Hogsmeade visit."

Sirius said, "Save your money. I'll send you one once I buy myself an owl. That'll probably be tomorrow. I definitely need to buy new clothes, as well as a lot of other things."

At that moment Dumbledore loudly said, "I believe that it's time to eat." At that moment, several trays of food, including a very large cake, as well as several ice cream products (which were charmed to stay cold until eaten) such as sundaes, banana splits, etc. (the entire menu of any good ice cream parlor) appeared on the various surfaces in the room, such as his desk. All of the objects that usually were there had vanished for the occasion. Fawkes was even surprisingly missing, although Harry thought it might not be a good idea to have a bird perched near so much food. Harry glanced at Hermione while he was filling up his plate. She seemed to be enjoying talking animatedly with Neville. He smiled to see she was enjoying herself, but then frowned when he thought of the eventual confrontation with Ron. He knew he couldn't talk to Ron, but he thought that maybe talking to her might help lessen the fight that was bound to occur.

After he'd eaten his dinner, as well as a banana split, he noticed that Hermione was sitting alone. He walked up to her and said, "I know it had a shaky start, but how are you enjoying your party?"

She turned to him and said, "Oh, it's really wonderful, Harry. Thank you."

"I was thinking about Ron." Hermione became tense. "He told me he thought your birthday was next week. That's why he didn't have a gift."

"You had a gift for Ginny, even though her birthday was last month. I heard about how you left the Dursleys for the day so you could be with her." She sighed, "That was very sweet of you, and so was everything you did for me today. I wish Ron were like you."

Harry smiled, "He's more like me than I like to admit. Do you remember what I did for Ginny's twelfth birthday?"

Hermione chuckled. "Absolutely nothing. But you'd had no idea…"

"I should've. I was staying at the Weasleys when Ginny had her eleventh birthday. I even was at her party."

"You weren't dating her then, so you didn't…"

"Think it was important enough to remember?" Harry sighed. "I don't know how many times I've wondered if she'd have ignored that bloody diary if I wasn't ignoring her." He took a drink of pumpkin juice. "Anyway, I guess I've gotten off topic. My point was that I forgot Ginny's first birthday after we started dating, and now Ron's done the same to you. I know he'll throw a temper tantrum like a five-year-old, but deep down he's sorry. I just don't want you to have a yelling match with him on your birthday."

"Did he know about this party?" asked Hermione.

"Er, yes," said Harry.

"Then that, in my opinion, takes away his excuse. What would you have done if you'd gotten an invitation to Ginny's twelfth birthday party a week before it occurred?"

Harry hung his head down. "Sent Hedwig out with an order for some kind of present immediately." He looked up at his friend. "What are you gonna do?"

She looked at Harry, "Don't you tell him this. You've already tried to cover for him today and I've decided not to be mad at you. If you help him now, I will be." Harry nodded, a bit scared of the look in her eyes, "If he simply apologizes and takes the blame for his mistake, I'll forgive him. If not, I'm going to Hogsmeade with Neville next weekend."

"What?"

"That should teach him to get his act together."

"Hermione, if you do that, he'll believe that it's over, and he'll ask someone else to go with him just to spite you."

Hermione looked Harry in the eyes and said, "If he'd rather go with someone else, then let him. I do not want a boyfriend who won't take responsibility for his mistakes. I know for a fact that you spent nearly a whole year apologizing to Ginny, even though she'd already forgiven you, trying to make it up to her once you realized your mistake! That's what Ron should be doing now instead of pouting like a little boy!"

Not long after that, Professor Dumbledore said, "I'm afraid that it is starting to get late, so alas, the party must end so that the students can get to their dorms before curfew."

All the Gryffindors walked together to the common room, which they found mostly deserted aside from a fuming Ron. All but Harry, Hermione, and Ginny went upstairs to their dorms.

"Harry," said Ron loudly, "You lied to me!"

"Believe it or not, Ron, I was trying to help," said Harry coldly.

"Why are you spending that much on my little sister anyway?" Ron spat back.

"What I spend on my girlfriend is none of your business!"

"It is when your girlfriend is my baby sister!"

Ginny pulled out her wand and pointed it at Ron. "If you put your nose into my relationship with Harry one more time, you'll be running away from your own bat bogeys! This is not about Harry and me! It's about you forgetting your girlfriend's birthday! Harry and I are going to leave you two alone while we snog in a broom closet. I suggest you be careful what you say if you want to keep your girlfriend. Come along, Harry."

She grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him back outside the portrait hole while Ron just glared at them. "That could've been us if you hadn't forgotten my birthday," said Hermione.

Ron started, "If Harry hadn't…"

"All Harry did was try to help you avoid ruining my birthday, which you're apparently determined to do! He may have been a bit misguided, but this is not his fault. It's yours!"

"My fault?

"Yes, your fault, Ronald!" Hermione was actually crying as she yelled. "Harry buys Ginny little gifts all the time! He's always finding nice things to do for her! He knows how to make his girlfriend feel special! That's why she wants to snog him senseless all the time, because he treats her like she's the most precious thing to him in the whole world! Why can't you be more like him?"

"He's not so perfect! He forgot about her birthday last year!"

"A fact he reminded me of earlier while he was trying to defend you. The difference is that when he realized his mistake, instead of making excuses, he apologized to the point that Ginny told him to stop. And then he spent about a year trying to make up for it! He still feels bad about it. I didn't say he's perfect, but he treats Ginny a whole lot better than you treat me! You should be thrilled that she's got such a wonderful boyfriend! Instead it annoys you."

"I'll bet you wish he was your boyfriend! I saw you hugging him today! He was awful quick to give you the present he bought for Ginny. The party was his idea too. He didn't have any trouble remembering your birthday."

Hermione's face was red with anger as her eyes narrowed at Ron. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, because if I did, I'd have to hex you," she said calmly. First of all, I don't feel that way about him, despite that fact that he's a much better man than you. Secondly, even if I did, anybody can see that he is totally devoted to Ginny, and therefore, I wouldn't stand a chance if I went after him. Thirdly, this is not about Harry and me. This is about you and me! Are you going to apologize for your mistake, or are you going to use excuses?"

"But if Harry…" said Ron.

"Fine. I think we need to stop seeing each other for awhile and date other people. If you decide that you care more about me than your pride, you can find me. That is, unless you're too late." She turned around and marched up to the girls' dormitory without another word while Ron stood there watching.

Ron was still standing there when Harry and Ginny arrived a few minutes later, looking a bit disheveled and happy. Before Ron turned around, Ginny asked, "How'd your talk go?"

"She said we should date other people," said Ron sadly as he turned around. Upon noticing the couple's appearance, he immediately started yelling. "Ginny, just cause that git acts like the perfect boyfriend with his little gifts and stuff, doesn't mean you should be his slag!"

At that moment, Ginny's face went pale for a second, and then red with anger, "I am not…"

"Don't you dare call Ginny that!" shouted Harry. "I don't care if you are her brother! I'll…"

"I know he's just so protective, charming and thoughtful, but the truth is he's only after one thing!"

Furious with her brother for his accusation, she decided to let him think what he wants. She yelled while smiling wickedly, "I know! It's the same thing I'm after!" and stormed up the stairs, leaving Harry alone with Ron. Harry pulled his wand out, just in case Ron lost his temper.

Ron glared at Harry, and then went up the stairs to the boys' dormitory without saying a word.

-

When Harry went up the stairs about a half hour later, he could tell by Ron's uneven breathing that he was feigning sleep, but preferred silence to arguing with Ron. Besides, he was tired.

When he woke up, he found that Ron was already gone, so he got ready and went downstairs to find Ginny sitting alone near the stairs. Before he was all the way down the stairs, Ginny had walked up to him and kissed him.

"Good morning," she said when they separated.

He smiled, "It is now. Have you seen Ron? He was gone when I got up."

Ginny frowned. "Yes, I've seen that git. He's mad at me for what I said."

"He's mad at everyone. I think he believes what you said about both of us being after one thing."

"It is true," said Ginny, smiling. "We are both after the same thing." She paused for a few seconds while Harry was staring at her blankly. "Love. We each want the other's love."

Harry smiled and took her hands in his own, kissing them gently, "You have mine."

Ginny smiled as she kissed his hands back and replied, "and you have mine," and kissed him quickly before they headed out to breakfast.

When they got to the Great Hall, they saw Ron sitting with Seamus and Dean, glaring at Hermione and Neville, who were sitting on the other end of the table across from each other, talking happily. Harry and Ginny sat near Neville and Hermione.

"Hi Harry and Ginny," said Hermione.

"Morning," said Neville.

"Hi guys," said Harry and Ginny at the same moment as they started piling food on their plates.

"I assume Ronald is mad at the two of you, as well," said Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harry, "Last night he called Ginny my slag and said that I'm with Ginny cause I'm only after one thing."

Hermione giggled, "Harry, we both know you're not like that. Ron has to know you care about her. He's just being stupid."

"I told him that he's right, though," said Ginny, "and that I'm after the same thing."

"Why did you tell him that?" asked Neville. "That'll only make him madder."

"I know," said Ginny, "but it's true. Harry and I are both after one thing – love." Harry blushed at that statement.

Hermione chuckled, "I never thought of that, but you're right. You are both after one thing."

"I didn't get the chance to tell you last night, but Sirius is gonna file to become my legal guardian," said Harry, happily changing the subject.

"That's great, Harry!" said Hermione happily, "I had a feeling he would."

"He's planning on getting an owl. I may actually have regular correspondence with him."

"Y-You'd rather live with Sirius Black than with your aunt and uncle?" asked Neville.

"Yes. They treat me the same way Snape did. That reminds me, have either of you heard anything about who will be teaching potions?"

"No," said Hermione, "but whoever it is has to be better than Snape."

"I'd rather have Tom Riddle teaching potions than that greasy git!" said Ginny.

Hermione and Harry chuckled at that statement while Neville looked confused. "Who's Tom Riddle?"

Harry answered, "Tom Marvolo Riddle is Voldemort's real name." Neville flinched at the name. "Tom Riddle was a student here about fifty years ago. He was a Slytherin who made prefect. I don't know if he made Head Boy or not. He framed Hagrid for a crime he committed here when he was sixteen. Unlike most of his followers, he's a half-blood, named after his muggle father. He couldn't even stand his own name, so he made one up out of the letters of his full name."

"Wow," said Neville, realizing the implications, "V-Voldemort is actually a meaningless name. I always thought there was something special about the name, but all it is is rearranged letters of a common name."

"Exactly," said Ginny.

"I could arrange the letters of Harry James Potter to be Mottra Rhaj Resery, but that wouldn't change who I am."

-

The next day, Harry got the animagus book from Sirius the next morning, along with a letter that said Sirius had filed for Harry's guardianship with the ministry of magic. The week went by quickly, with Ron glaring at the foursome every chance he got. Harry got a few letters from Sirius about the house on Grimmauld Place. When Sirius said how his elf, Kreature, had let the house fall into shambles, Harry suggested giving the elf clothes, saying that a house elf who does no work isn't worth keeping around anyway. Sirius agreed with that logic, and did as Harry suggested. Sirius said he almost felt sorry for the worthless elf with the way he wept after he received the clothes. Dumbledore introduced a man named Professor Slughorn as the new potions professor and head of Slytherin house. He said that Slughorn had held the position before, and had agreed to come out of retirement for this year only to fill the vacancy left by Professor Snape.

Before they knew it, Harry and Ginny were walking hand in hand toward Hogsmeade. Hermione and Neville were in front of them, but that couple wasn't holding hands. Harry noticed Ron up ahead walking hand-in-hand with Lavender Brown. He wondered if things would ever get back to the way they were, but knew that he couldn't interfere. He turned his attention back to Ginny. "Where do you want to go first?"

-

Harry and Ginny enjoyed their day in Hogsmeade. They'd visited a place called Madam Puddifoot's, but decided that they'd rather not stay there. Ginny said, "I'd much rather snog you in private."

He bought Ginny some chocolates, as well as a flower and the promised perfume. When she protested, he argued, "It's your prize for being the world's best girlfriend," causing her to blush as she stopped her protests. He then amused her with his poetry.

"Your eyes are as brown as a chocolate cake.

Your hair is as red as a strawberry shake.

I'm glad to be yours,

Of one thing I'm sure.

Dating you was not a mistake."

She chuckled at that poem, saying, "Now I owe you two poems. Let's see,

Your eyes are as green as a big glob of slime

Your hair is as dark as filthy old grime

You treat me so great,

Your chocolates I ate,

The school bells are soon gonna chime.

We'd better get going," she said as Harry laughed at her poem, "we'll be late."

-

Before they got back to the castle, they noticed Hermione watching Ron snogging Lavender."

Harry and Ginny walked up to the sad brunette. Harry said, "I told you this was gonna happen."

"Ron's using Lavender in a worse way than he accused Harry of using me," said Ginny. "I know exactly how you feel, Hermione. I remember when I saw Cho kissing Harry…"

"I wasn't…" protested Harry.

"I know that now," said Ginny, "but at the time, I thought that you were in love with Cho."

Hermione said bitterly, "But this time Ron is kissing Lavender. He really doesn't care about me anymore!"

"I doubt that's really true," said Harry, "but he's certainly trying to convince himself and you of that." He then shook his head. "I don't know how he can do that! I felt so dirty when Cho kissed me! I couldn't imagine going off and snogging someone else, even if I were mad!"

Ginny smiled at him, "That's one of the reasons I love you. You're fiercely loyal."

"I don't know why I even care," said Hermione. "This has been one of the most peaceful weeks I've ever had at Hogwarts. All Ron and I ever did was fight and kiss! Harry, you've been more considerate to me than Ron, and you're dating someone else. Even if he wants me to take him back, I won't until he proves he's finally grown up."

-

Over the next month, Ron and Lavender could be seen snogging all over the castle. Hermione, however, decided that it wouldn't be right to use Neville in that way, so she kept their relationship platonic, although they did hang out a lot while Harry and Ginny were out snogging somewhere. Although she'd never admit it, she really was jealous of Ginny when she saw how Harry treated her. Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Hermione had all been invited to what Professor Slughorn called, "The Slug Club." It was to have its first meeting in early November, as soon as the professor was settled in to his office and caught up with grading. Harry and Ginny had been reading the animagus book together when they could, and were almost done with it. Sirius had said to finish the book before talking to him about it. He also said that a custody hearing had been scheduled for the first Monday of Christmas Break since Harry was required to attend it. Before they knew it, it was October 30th, and the representatives of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang schools were about to arrive.

-

Please review.


	25. Chapter 25 The Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 25 – The Goblet of Fire**

Harry and Ginny were standing together holding hands while they watched the representatives of Beauxbatons arrive on the flying-horse-drawn carriage, and were amused to hear that the horses only drank single malt whiskey.

"Who would want to turn their horses into alcoholics?" asked Harry, while chuckling.

Ginny looked at Harry. "What's an alcoholic?"

Hermione, who'd been standing nearby, said, "Alcoholic is a muggle term to used to describe someone who is addicted to alcohol. An alcoholic can't live without his or her drink. Their dependence on it usually ruins their lives. They either don't show up or show up at work drunk, so they lose their jobs. They're always drunk around their families, who eventually leave them…"

"Alright Hermione, I get the idea," said Ginny.

"I wonder who gave them whiskey to begin with," said Hermione, "They weren't born alcoholics. Someone gave them whiskey instead of water."

"Even if there was some kind of accident where it got spilled into their water, Madam Maxime has kept on giving it to them," said Ginny.

"She claims that's all that they'll drink," said Harry, "but if they went long enough without it, they'd start drinking water. As it is, I'm surprised they can fly straight."

-

After they watched the boat from Durmstrang arrive, they all went into the Great Hall for the feast. Hermione, Harry and Ginny chuckled when they saw how Ron reacted to a French girl, who took some of the French food from in front of him. Hermione started laughing out loud when Lavender, who was sitting next to him at the time, slapped Ron across the face and moved to another spot at the Gryffindor table, leaving him by himself and looking angry.

Ginny said, "Harry, do you see how the headmaster of Durmstrang is looking at you? It looks like he wants to put you under the cruciatus curse."

"Really?" said Harry, turning toward Karkaroff just in time to see him turn his head.

Hermione said, "Did he really look like he hated Harry?"

"Yes," said Ginny, "which is funny. Everybody who sees 'the great Harry Potter' always is thrilled to death and likes him, and wants to meet him to thank him."

"Not everyone," said Hermione. "I'm sure Harry remembers the look of loathing that Prisoner Snape gave him at our first Hogwarts feast."

"Prisoner Snape?" repeated Ginny with a smirk.

Hermione's ears went pink. "Well, er, I started to say, 'Professor,' but that title is no longer accurate. 'Prisoner' is."

Harry chuckled, "I must admit that Prisoner Snape sounds a lot better than Professor Snape." At that moment, Harry noticed Viktor Krum, who'd arrived with Durmstrang, staring at Hermione, and wanted to see if she'd noticed. "Hermione," he whispered, "Viktor Krum is looking at you."

She blushed slightly, but said, "He's probably just hoping there are better looking girls around here than me."

"Hermione," said Ginny, "You shouldn't talk like that. You are a beautiful girl. Isn't she Harry?"

"Absolutely," said Harry, sincerely.

Hermione smirked at him, "Then why is that after you were friends with Ginny for two days, you started dating, while you'd been friends with me for two years, and never thought about it?"

Harry appeared to have been confunded. "Er, well, I er, kind of think that y'know, Ginny and me were, well, meant to be."

"That's one of the sweetest things you've ever attempted to say, Love," said Ginny with a grin.

"And I suppose your bond helped, too," said Hermione.

"I don't know if it did or didn't," said Ginny, "but I do know that when Harry decided to see how I was doing after the, the chamber, that my crush seemed to go away and was replaced with a lot stronger feelings."

Harry smiled, "That was the best decision I've ever made."

Their conversation was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore announcing information related to the tournament, and revealing the goblet of fire. After Fred and George, who were sitting with them, announced their intentions to try to sneak their names into the goblet, Ginny looked into Harry's eyes and said, "Harry, I hope you're not thinking of trying to enter."

Harry took a moment to respond. "Er, no. I wasn't."

"Harry," said Ginny, patiently, "Don't lie to me. I can always tell anyway. Please don't enter it. I want to sit next to you in the stands watching whatever fools put their names in the goblet risk their lives for a quarter-inch entry in a history book. I don't want to be sitting alone scared to death that I'll have to find a new boyfriend, just when I've got you properly trained."

Harry tried to hide his smile. "Thanks, I'm deeply touched by your concern. If it makes you feel better, I promise not to try getting my name in that goblet, although I'd bet that a well-aimed paper airplane would get past the age line Dumbledore's gonna draw."

"What do you mean, well-aimed?" asked Ginny. "The paper airplanes at the ministry always go where they're sent to."

"Paper airplanes at the ministry?" asked Hermione. "Is that place a playground or a government office?"

"It's not a game. They started turning memos into paper airplanes and charming them to fly between departments when the owl droppings got to be too much to handle. I visited the ministry with dad just before I started Hogwarts and saw them."

Twin smiles appeared on the Weasley twins' faces. Fred said, "Paper…"

"…Airplanes."

They both said, "Brilliant!"

"But what should we do…" said Fred.

"…with our aging potion?" said George.

"Ron!" they said together.

"But it's against the rules to…" said Hermione.

"Rules?" asked Fred and George together, silencing Hermione.

Fred said, "We've got to go…"

"…and do some research," finished George, as they got up and walked out of the room.

Ginny chuckled as she watched her favorite brothers leave. She then turned her attention back on her boyfriend. "Harry, you didn't answer what you meant by 'well aimed' paper airplane."

"Oh," said Harry. "I didn't know wizards made them. Muggles fold up a piece of paper into an airplane and throw it in the air in a particular direction, and hope it goes where they aimed it. I was just thinking that if someone threw it at the flames, it would probably get their name entered."

"Oh," said Ginny. "Just remember that you promised not to try it."

"I remember, love."

"Good."

-

The next morning, Harry and Ginny walked into the Great Hall early, just in time to see Ron stepping over the age line. Hermione was right behind them, and gasped. Ron had a huge grin on his face as he went to put his piece of parchment in the goblet. Hermione started laughing when Ron was thrown backwards. Harry and Ginny joined as Ron's hair turned white and he started growing a beard that looked remarkably like Dumbledore's.

At that moment, the twins each tapped one of Harry's shoulders. Fred said, "It's a good thing…"

"…we took your suggestion," said George.

"We got our names into the goblet …" said Fred.

"…early this morning," said George.

"And gave our aging potion…" said Fred.

"…to our dear brother," said George.

Both twins started laughing at Ron, who was now glaring at them. Harry and Ginny couldn't help but join in the laughter as Dumbledore walked into the room and looked at Ron with a twinkle in his eyes.

The headmaster complimented Ron's beard and sent him to the hospital wing, and then continued on his way. The day progressed as more people submitted their names as the other students speculated on who the champions would be. Soon it was time for the Halloween Feast. When it finally was time for the announcement of the champions, the goblet sent the first name out. Albus caught it and said, "The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum." Viktor shook Dumbledore's hand and left the room. When the next name came out, he said, "The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour." She then shook Albus' hand and left the room. Finally the third paper came out of the Goblet of Fire. "And the Hogwarts champion is…" He paused, looking worried before reading, "…Fred Weasley."

Fred proudly got up, raising his hands in the air, as half the crowd cheered, and the other half booed, and gladly took his name from the headmaster, who absently shook his hand while his brow was furrowed with thought. Dumbledore then changed his expression to fake happiness and said, "Excellent! We now have our three champions, and I hope that each and every one of you will give them your support, because it can make a real difference…"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, as the fire in the goblet turned red once more. Another piece of parchment came out of the goblet, which Dumbledore caught. He stared at the name for about thirty seconds before he said, "Harry Potter,"

"Wicked!" shouted George.

Harry felt Ginny release his hand. He turned to her and whispered, "I swear I didn't enter."

"Harry Potter!" the headmaster's voice became louder.

"You need to go up there," whispered Ginny.

"What I NEED is to know that you believe me," whispered Harry.

"HARRY POTTER!" shouted Dumbledore, clearly losing his patience.

"Go on, Harry," said Ginny.

"Do you believe me?"

"Yes, alright! Go."

Harry smiled briefly at his girlfriend, before taking on a grave expression as he marched to Dumbledore and took the paper. Without shaking Harry's hand, the headmaster pointed Harry toward the door the other champions had gone through.

"Hey Harry!" said Fred as he saw him enter. "Don't tell me you got your name in the tournament as well! Brilliant, mate! Ginny's gonna hex you, but brilliant!"

"I didn't enter," said Harry firmly, looking straight into Fred's eyes.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Before Harry could answer, Dumbledore came in, clearly upset. First he grabbed Fred and asked, "Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

Fred smiled proudly, "Yes, sir."

"How?" asked Dumbledore, looking surprised.

"I used an enchanted paper airplane like they use at the ministry. I got the idea from Harry."

Harry could have sworn he heard the aged man curse under his breath, and then Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Did you enter yourself as well?"

Harry looked straight in Dumbledore's eyes and calmly said, "No, sir."

"But you knew how to enter?"

"Yes sir."

"Why didn't you?"

"Ginny made me promise not to, sir."

Dumbledore smiled for half a second, and then he frowned. He then turned to Fred. "You and George didn't enter Harry's name in the goblet, did you?"

Fred said, "No, we heard him promise our sister, but we would've if he'd asked us."

"Dumbledore," Igor Karkaroff's voice shouted as he entered the room. "You have shown your true colors today! Not only have you defied your own ministry's age rules, but you have gotten two champions for Hogwarts!"

Dumbledore put his head down, "I admit that Mr. Weasley used an ingenious way that I had not anticipated to get past my age line and that Mr. Potter was aware of that method. But I do not believe that either of them could have caused the Goblet to give us two Hogwarts champions."

-

After much argument and discussion, it was determined that both Fred and Harry had to compete, according to the rules of the tournament. Soon, Fred and Harry were headed back to the Gryffindor common room. Fred said, "Harry, you know I believe you, but do you have nay idea who might have entered your name in the tournament?"

Harry shook his head. "If you and George didn't do it, then I have no idea."

"Hm. Oh well, I guess we're competitors. If I win, George and I will be using the money to open a joke shop. If you win, we'd welcome you as a partner if you'd like."

Harry smiled, "I may do that, but I doubt I'll win. What I'd like to do now is prank Karkaroff. Did you hear how he insulted Dumbledore, and then me? He's been glaring at me since he arrived!"

Fred smiled, "Well then, we'll have to plan something."

They entered the common room to find a party in session. Fred joined immediately, but Harry looked around to find Ginny. During his search, he noticed a scowling Ron, obviously jealous that he wasn't in the tournament. His eyes finally rested on Ginny. She was sitting in a corner, and appeared to be crying. He walked up to her and said, "May I join you?"

She looked up. "Yes you may."

He sat down next to her and asked, "Why are you crying? You do believe me, right. You didn't just say that to get me to go, did you?"

Ginny gave him a brief smile. "I do believe you Harry, and I'm touched that my opinion meant more to you than everybody else's. I, I'm crying because two people I love are now champions in a very dangerous tournament. I know mum's gonna throw a fit. Dumbledore is definitely going to receive a Weasley howler soon." Ginny smiled. "Maybe if I write her tonight, he'll get the howler at breakfast. May I borrow Hedwig?"

Harry chuckled, "Sure, but before you go, I want you to start thinking of a way to prank Karkaroff."

-

Please review. Before I get flamed and threatened with 48 hours of nonstop exposure to the cruciatus curse, I promise that I won't kill Fred.


	26. Chapter 26 Howlers

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 26 – Howlers**

The next morning, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione went down to breakfast as usual. Harry was greeted with a lot of glares from the Slytherin table, but aside from that, everything seemed fine. He did notice something unexpected, however. Hagrid was standing in a corner talking to Draco. Harry figured Malfoy must have done something and was getting told off. He chuckled to himself, and then continued walking toward the table, where the food had already appeared. While he was eating, he noticed Hedwig fly into the Great Hall. The snowy owl, however, did not fly to Harry. Harry, Ginny, and Hermione all smiled when they noticed that Hedwig was headed straight toward the headmaster.

-

Albus recognized the owl, and wasn't concerned at first. He thought perhaps Harry wanted a private word with him about the tournament. But then, he noticed what Hedwig was carrying, and his expression changed to fear. He'd seen enough students receive these to know that Mrs. Weasley, whom he would bet his vault at Gringotts had sent this, sent the worst howlers of anybody. Normally the howlers he received came to his office, but not this one. Sighing, and resigning himself to the inevitable, he took the envelope and opened it. The entire hall heard Mrs. Weasley's voice booming through the Great Hall.

"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!

HOW DARE YOU ALLOW FRED AND HARRY TO ENTER THAT TOURNAMENT! NEITHER ONE OF THEM IS OF AGE! THE MINISTRY SAID THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO, AND I TRUSTED YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D ENDANGER THEIR LIVES FOR A STUPID CONTEST, RULES BE DAMNED! I'M FILING A COMPLAINT WITH THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS! IF YOU EVER PULL A STUNT LIKE THIS AGAIN, I'M PULLING ALL MY CHILDREN OUT OF HOGWARTS, AND I'LL TRY TO CONVINCE HARRY TO LEAVE AS WELL!

The letter exploded, and the entire student body, as well as the faculty, had a good laugh at the old man, who appeared to have aged another fifty years. It had obviously been a long time since he'd gotten a howler like that.

Ginny was laughing harder than most people. Hedwig had flown over to Harry, scared to death when the howler started yelling. Harry was petting his owl while Ginny fed her some bacon. Harry said, "You did a good job, girl. You go take your well-deserved rest at the owlry." Hedwig hooted and flew off.

"That was great," Ginny said, still chuckling. "Dumbledore looked more scared than Ron when he gets one!"

At that moment, the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing the silhouette of a very big man. He stepped forward as Harry and everybody else watched. When he was in the light, it was revealed that this was Hagrid, but that he had several cuts and bruises on him. Harry immediately looked at the healthy Hagrid who'd been talking to Malfoy, to see that he was running away. Harry was going to alert the staff, but he noticed that Dumbledore, as well as several others, were already on their feet in pursuit as Madam Pomfrey began tending to Hagrid.

All of the sudden, it made sense to him. Harry started to get up to chase the imposter, but felt Ginny's hand on his shoulder. She calmly said, "Harry, there's nothing you can do that Dumbledore can't."

"That's who put my name in the goblet!" shouted Harry. "It has to be!"

"I know," said Ginny. "Hopefully they'll catch whoever it is and we'll find out the truth."

"He has to be working for Voldemort! Same as Crouch Jr!" said Harry.

"Of course," said Hermione, putting her hand on her forehead, "He was sent to complete Crouch's mission."

"I need to talk to Hagrid!" said Harry. "Hopefully he knows who attacked him!" Harry got up, and this time Ginny let him. He, Ginny, and Hermione walked over to where Hagrid was sitting as she quickly healed all the minor injuries that were on him.

"Now Hagrid," said Madam Pomfrey impatiently, "You will have to come to the hospital wing for a full checkup."

"But I…" said Hagrid, only to be interrupted.

"Hagrid, are you ok?" asked Hermione.

"As I been tryin' to tell Madam Pomfrey, I'm fine," said Hagrid.

"How long were you captured?" asked Harry.

"Bout a day, I'd wager."

"Who captured you?" asked Harry.

"I ne'er seen his face. 'E was wearin' a Death Eater's mask an' robes, like I 'erd they wore at the World Cup. His wand had some kind a fancy 'andle, but I didn't see that end a the wand much. I was attacked while walkin' out a the Three Broomsticks. I was a bit, er, y'know, drunk, an' all the sudden I was hit with a curse. He was standing too far away fer me to hit em. Anyway, he hit me with curse after curse until I was out. He musta thought I'd be out longer than I was. I woke up chained up in the Shriekin' Shack. The chains weren't too strong, so I pulled dem off an made my way down a passage I found. I ne'er knew the Whompin' Willow was the entrance to the Shriekin' Shack! Anyway, the tree hit me once in the face before I realized where I was. Then I came here. What's been goin' on while I was gone?"

Hermione answered, "Harry has been entered as a fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament."

Hagrid's newly healed eyes buldged out, "No! Dumbledore wouldn't allow…"

"I'm afraid I had no choice," came the tired voice of Dumbledore from behind them. "I'm also afraid that your attacker escaped, Hagrid. I must say that you three children are very astute. I agree that whoever it was is responsible for entering Mr. Potter's name in the goblet. The only question is why Voldemort wants Harry in the Triwizard Tournament."

-

A few days later, Harry was standing outside the door of potions class, when the Slytherins were showing off their new badges that said, 'Support Viktor Krum,' and when you touch it, the message changed to 'Weasley & Potter Stink.' Hermione had made a sarcastic comment about them being, "really witty."

Malfoy said, "Want one, Mudblood…"

"Mr. Malfoy," shouted Professor Slughorn from behind. "We do not use that kind of language in this school! Ten points from Slytherin! If I here you using that word again, I'll give you a silencing hex that Madam Pomfrey can't cure! Miss Granger happens to be at the top of this class, whereas you're near the bottom. How you ever made good potions marks before had to be blatant favoritism on the part of Professor Snape like everybody said." He opened the door to the room and said, "All right everybody, get in and get settled so we can begin class."

After Slughorn had lectured for about an hour, he said, "Now class, I would like you to pair off in teams of two for a project on the poisons listed in chapter seven. I would like you to learn how to make them, as well as their antidote. I'll want ten feet of parchment on the subject, and I want it to be a shared effort. You'll also do a presentation of one of the poisons along with its cure next week."

Harry's eyes bulged out at this assignment. Before anyone else could ask, he turned to Hermione. "Could you please work with me on the project?"

She looked at Harry as though she were thinking very hard. "As long as you promise to do your share of the work. I'm not going to do it all."

"I promise," said Harry quickly, as Ron glared at him. Harry noticed this and just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

At that moment, Colin Creevey interrupted the class to say that Harry had to leave for a photo session, which Slughorn was more than happy to allow. "Just make sure you tell them that I'm your favorite teacher if they ask."

-

When Harry made it to dinner, he found Ginny and Hermione had saved him a spot. He sat in between them and said, "Hi girls. That was uncomfortable! First I met that Rita Skeeter woman, and she pulled me into a broom closet…"

"Should I be jealous?" interrupted Ginny with a smirk, causing Harry to blush.

"No," he said, "and then she starts asking me questions, but instead of waiting for me to answer, she has this magical quill that answered for me, making up all kinds of stuff like my eyes glistening with the ghost of my past."

"A quick quotes quill?" asked Hermione.

"Er, yeah, that's what she called it."

"I read about them! Those should be illegal! There's no point in doing an interview when you use them! Who knows what she'll write in the Prophet about you? Anyway, I thought that after dinner we could go to the library and get started on our project, if that's alright."

"Oh, er…" said Harry.

"That's alright, Harry. I understand. I'll go snog Colin while you're working." When she saw the panicked look on Harry's face, she burst out laughing. "Relax Harry!" she said in between giggles as Hermione joined in the laughter, "I'm kidding. I'll do some homework in the common room. We can spend some time together tomorrow."

"It's a date," said Harry, just before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm done, so if you're ready Hermione…"

At that moment, they heard one of the twins shout, "Just because the goblet picked you over me, Fred, it doesn't mean I'm stupid!" and left the table in a hurry while the other twin was staring blankly.

Hermione said, "Harry, we'll have to let Fred and George solve their problems. I'm ready to go to the library if you are."

-

About an hour later, Harry and Hermione were deep in their research, when Harry noticed Ron in the library watching them, and glaring at him. However, once Ron saw that Harry had spotted him, Ron turned around and left, but not before Hermione saw him.

Hermione looked distraught at that moment. She said, "I don't know what to do. Lavender broke up with Ron, and part of me wants to run back to him, but the other part wants him to apologize first."

Hermione looked down at the table they were sitting at. Harry gently put his hand under her chin and lifted her face, which revealed tears. "You don't have to be afraid to cry in front of me, Hermione. I'm your friend. I care about you."

She gave him a small smile. "That means a lot, Harry."

"I'm no expert on dealing with Ron, but I do know this. If you take him back without him admitting he was wrong, then he'll hurt you again in the same way. I think that's why Ginny puts with me. When I mess up, I'll admit it to her. I spent one day last year with her mad at me, and that was enough for me to realize that I don't want to be without her, and if that means I sometimes have to swallow my pride, then so be it."

Hermione smiled at him. "You really are too good of a boyfriend. I hope Ginny appreciates you. I doubt any other boy at Hogwarts feels that way about his girlfriend." Hermione sighed. "Sometimes I feel so jealous of her."

Harry looked concerned, "Hermione? Er, You don't…"

"Maybe I like you a little, but I know you're in love with Ginny." She smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna do what Cho did. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, I think I love Ron. I just wish he'd treat me the way you treat Ginny." She gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "We need to get back to work."

-

The next morning at breakfast, Neville Longbottom was sitting with Harry and the girls when an owl carrying the Daily Prophet flew to him. After paying the owl, Neville unrolled the paper and his eyes bulged out. "Er, Harry, Hermione, you're on the cover."

Harry grabbed the paper and saw a moving picture of Hermione kissing him on the cheek in the library. The headline said,

"Harry Potter, Triwizard Champion, Heartbreaker.

By Rita Skeeter

Harry Potter, suspect entrant in the Triwizard Tournament, is supposedly dating Ginny Weasley, an attractive girl a year younger than him, but this reporter has seen him in the company of Hermione Granger, a plain but ambitious muggleborn girl, and from the photo below, you can see that they weren't exactly studying. The only question is whether Harry has actually fallen in love with Granger, or if she has somehow bewitched him. 'She is at the top of our class in potions, so making a love potion wouldn't be beyond her capabilities,' said Pansy Parkinson, a concerned friend of Mr. Potter's…"

Harry burst out laughing when he read that line. He said, "Everything in that article is as true as the line that says Parkinson's my friend!"

"Let me see," said Ginny, who read the article and started laughing until the other owls started arriving.

Hermione opened a letter that called her everything but a Death Eater. The next letter said that she probably was a Death Eater out to kill Harry. She opened another envelope, and a spell shot straight from it into her mouth, where her front teeth started growing uncontrollably. Before she left the table, a howler, carried by Errol, was dropped in front of Harry.

"HARRY POTTER!

HOW DARE YOU BREAK MY DAUGHTER'S HEART LIKE THAT! NOT TO MENTION THAT YOU'RE CHEATING ON GINNY WITH THE GIRL RON'S IN LOVE WITH! YOU ARE NEVER INVITED BACK TO THE BURROW, AND IF I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN, IT'LL BE TOO SOON!

GOODBYE!"

Harry sat there in complete shock, while Ginny glared at the envelope, looking ready to kill. Hermione started crying. The three of them started walking toward the hospital wing, not noticing that Ron was following. Ginny said more to herself than anybody else, "How could she believe that rubbish?"

-

Please review. Thanks to all who have reviewed.


	27. Chapter 27 Learning

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 27 – Learning**

After they got Hermione to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey removed the curse that made her teeth keep growing, and gave Hermione a mirror. She asked her when to stop shrinking the teeth down. Harry and Ginny watched in amusement as they noticed that their friend was having her teeth shrunk more than she was supposed to. When she was finished in the hospital wing, Harry said with a smirk, "Nice smile."

Hermione blushed as Ginny giggled. "Well, er, I've always wanted to shrink my teeth, but mum and dad wouldn't let me. They'll probably be mad, but at least I can say I didn't do it myself."

Ginny said, "I've got something I need to do," and walked off before yelling back, "and I'll need to borrow Hedwig."

Harry called out, "Sure," and turned to Hermione. "I wonder if she's owling her mum."

Hermione chuckled slightly, but Harry could see that his friend was as hurt as he was pretending not to be. "I can't believe that Mrs. Weasley believed that rubbish! I thought she knew us better than that."

Neither of them saw Ron watching them with a relieved look on his face.

-

Later that day, Mrs. Weasley was busily reading the latest copy of Witch Weekly. Ever since Ginny started at Hogwarts, the Weasley matriarch spent the majority of the year relaxing, although she kept that a complete secret. Even her husband was convinced that she was busily working all day while he was at the ministry. He didn't realize that with the kids gone, there was nothing for her to do. She was interrupted by a tapping sound coming from her window. She looked up to see a snowy owl she recognized as Hedwig was outside with a letter. She scowled at the bird, muttered, "What does that brat want!" and let the bird inside. She was surprised to see that Hedwig had been carrying a howler, but she was more surprised that the voice thundering from the howler was not Harry's. It was Ginny.

"MUM! HOW COULD YOU BELIEVE THAT RUBBISH FROM THE DAILY PROPHET? SINCE WHEN HAS RITA SKEETER EVER WRITTEN THE TRUTH ABOUT ANYTHING? THE FACT IS THAT YOUR INSENSITIVE SON RON BROKE HERMIONE'S HEART ON HER BIRTHDAY AND STARTED SNOGGING SOMEONE ELSE ALL OVER THE SCHOOL A WEEK LATER! HARRY, MY VERY WONDERFUL, LOYAL, BOYFRIEND, WAS TRYING TO COMFORT HER ON A DAY THAT WAS PARTICULARLY HARD FOR HER, AND SHE KISSED HIM ON THE CHEEK! IT WAS COMPLETELY INNOCENT! YET, INSTEAD OF ASKING ME ABOUT IT, YOU SEND HIM A HOWLER BASICALLY TELLING HIM TO GO TO HELL IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE SCHOOL! THANKS TO YOU, A LOT MORE STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BELIEVE THAT RUBBISH! YOU EMBARRASSED ME AND HURT BOTH HARRY AND HERMIONE BY AUTOMATICALLY BELIEVING THE WORST ABOUT THEM! I EXPECTED BETTER FROM YOU! HARRY IS UNDER ENOUGH PRESSURE FROM THIS STUPID TOURNAMENT THAT WE NOW KNOW A DEATH EATER ENTERED HIM IN UNDER TOM'S ORDERS WITHOUT HAVING A WOMAN HE LOOKS AT AS HIS MOTHER DISOWNING HIM! YOU'RE AS BAD AS THE DURSLEYS! I AM NOT SENDING YOU ANOTHER LETTER OR SPEAKING TO YOU UNTIL YOU'VE GIVEN BOTH HARRY AND HERMIONE A PROPER APOLOGY!"

Molly Weasley sat there literally stunned by the words of her daughter, with tears starting to fall from her eyes.

-

Harry was eating his lunch with Ginny and Hermione when a brown owl Harry recognized as Sirius' owl, Orion. He was carrying a small package and a note. Harry opened the note first and read,

"_Hey Harry_,

_This is a two way mirror. Your dad and I used to talk through these all the time. You just hold it and say, 'Sirius.' Call me as soon as you can. Hopefully this will arrive before lunch is over so you can talk to me then._

_Sirius_"

Harry passed the note to Ginny while he opened the package up to reveal a small mirror. He held it in front of him and tentatively said, "Sirius?" The mirror glowed white for a few seconds, and then Sirius' face appeared on the mirror. Harry grinned. "Wow!"

"Hey cub, it's good to see you. Did you enter yourself into the tournament?"

"No, there was an imposter here disguised as Hagrid. He got away when the real Hagrid showed up after escaping. We, along with Dumbledore, believe he was a Death Eater who finished Crouch Jr's job by entering me into the stupid tournament."

Sirius looked grave. "That's probably true. The question is why. I mean, if what Voldemort wanted to do was kill you, it could be much simpler than that. Anyway, I was looking through my house and found these old mirrors, and thought they should be put to good use. What else has been going on with you? I read that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in the paper today. I'll bet a lot of idiots are talking about you."

"Yeah," said Harry with a sigh, "Mrs. Weasley sent me a howler about breaking Ginny's heart. The whole school heard it…"

"…But I sent her a howler of my own," interrupted Ginny proudly.

Sirius chuckled. "Hi Ginny. I'll bet she'll never forget the howler you sent her."

"She'd better not, or I'll have to send her another one!" said Ginny with a smirk.

"Well, keep me posted on what's going on. I've got to go now. I've got curtains full of doxies that I have to take care of."

Ginny winced and then chuckled, "Well, better you than me."

"Ha-ha," said Sirius, "I'll see you later. Goodbye." The image faded away.

Harry whispered in Ginny's ear, "Later tonight, when we're alone, we'll talk to him about animagus transformation."

She smiled and nodded at him, earning a curious glance from Hermione. "It's nothing," said Ginny lightly.

"Or none of my business anyway," said Hermione.

Harry decided to have fun with his friend. "I was merely talking to her about some…er…research we've been…well…studying about our…anatomy.

Hermione turned her head down in humiliation. It was easy to see that her cheeks were red. "You really don't have to tell me…"

Ginny joined in, "But as our friend, don't you think you should know about our…er…experiments."

"I d-don't want to know," Hermione said slightly stuttering, "I h-have to go to the library." She started to get up, but before she could, an old owl they recognized as Errol crashed onto their table, causing a glass of pumpkin juice to spill on Hermione, who shrieked slightly.

The three of them saw it was a howler from Mrs. Weasley. Ginny took it and opened it.

"_Harry, Hermione, and Ginny,_

_I owe you all an apology. I can't believe that I fell for the lies that Rita Skeeter wrote about you! I already knew she always lied about everything she's written about people I know, so I have no excuse._

_Harry, starting with saving Ginny's life, you have always been wonderful to her, and I should've given you the trust that you have earned. I'm very sorry. You are most welcome in my home, if you even want to visit after what I've done._

_Hermione, I'm sorry to hear about you and Ron. I hope that things work out. I should've known you wouldn't try to get in between Harry and Ginny. I'm truly sorry._

_Ginny, even if the article was true, I shouldn't have interfered like that. I found out that you are quite capable of yelling at Harry if you ever need to._

_I hope you all can forgive me._"

Instead of her voice booming out in anger like a normal howler, her voice was soft and it sounded like she was crying.

"Well," said Harry, "I guess we should send her a letter accepting her apology."

"Just like that?" questioned Ginny.

"What else would we do?" asked Hermione.

"Make her sweat," said the redhead.

"Ginny," said Harry firmly, "She sounds like she's been crying. She obviously realizes she was wrong. I'm gonna accept her apology. That way she'll owe me a favor."

Ginny grinned at him. "I guess that'll work."

-

Later that night, after dinner, Harry and Ginny snuck into a broom closet for privacy while they talked about their illegal plans with Sirius. Ginny thought that if they were caught, they could easily claim to have been snogging, and no one would disbelieve them. Harry pulled out his mirror. "Sirius."

Sirius appeared. "Hi guys. It seems dark where you're at."

"That's cause it's a broom closet," said Ginny with mirth.

"Er, well guys. When I was in a broom closet with a girl, the last thing on my mind was using my two-way mirror. Do I need to have a talk with you Harry, about girls?" Sirius had an evil grin. "Generally speaking, if they pull you into a broom closet, they want to snog you senseless. What you do is press your lips together and…"

"We know how to snog!" declared a blushing Harry while Ginny and Sirius chuckled at Harry's obvious discomfort. "We wanted to talk to you without anybody overhearing, not even Hermione. We finished reading the animagus book."

"Oh," said Sirius. "In that case, I guess that's different. Do either of you have any questions about that?"

They spent about an hour discussing the subject with Sirius, and he gave advice and did his best to describe the meditative technique necessary for preparing your body for the transformation and gave them a schedule of meditative exercises to prepare them. He hoped that by Christmastime, they'd be ready to find out what kind of animals they would become.

-

In the meantime, Hermione was sitting alone in the common room studying when Ron walked up to her. He softly said, "Hi."

She looked up to him and scowled. "Hi," she said coldly.

Ron looked down. "I, er, saw you got hexed earlier and, er, I wanted to know how you were feeling."

Hermione stopped herself from smiling at his concern. "I'm fine," she said with a neutral tone.

"Your teeth are different now," Ron observed. "They look nice."

"I suppose now I'm pretty enough now, huh?" she hissed at him. "At least until Lavender gets back with you."

Ron stepped back. "I, er didn't mean anything by it. I'm, er, just glad you're alright. That's all." He started to turn around.

"Thanks Ron," she said just loudly enough for him to hear as he walked away. She smiled to herself. Maybe she would eventually take him back, but he would have to work for his second chance. The fact that he was concerned about her meant that there was hope. She went back to her studying.

-

She was still studying when Harry and Ginny made their way to Gryffindor Tower. After their conversation with Sirius, Harry suggested that they actually do snog for a while, "Just to maintain appearances."

Ginny had replied, "Anything for the cause," and proceeded to snog him until he forgot who he was.

So it was that when they arrived in the common room, they were sufficiently disheveled so as not to arouse the suspicions of one, Hermione Granger. They walked up to her and Harry said with a smirk, "Don't you ever stop studying?"

She looked up and flashed Harry a dirty look before smiling. "Don't you two ever stop snogging?"

Ginny and Harry barely blushed at this. Before they could respond, three school owls flew into the room. One went to Hermione, one to Harry, and one to Ginny. Each of them was carrying the same message.

"Your presence, as well as an optional date, is requested at the first 'Slug Club' meeting/party this Friday at seven o'clock in my office. Dinner will be served at the event. Formal attire will be appropriate.

Sincerely,

Professor Horace Slughorn"

-

Please review. Thanks to all my loyal readers and reviewers.


	28. Chapter 28  Slugs and Dragons

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 28 – Slugs and Dragons**

"So Ginny," said Harry with a grin, "Would you be my optional date for the Slug Club meeting?"

"Actually," said Ginny smirking, "I was hoping you would be my optional date, so I'll have to decline your offer." They both chuckled.

Hermione looked pensive. "I wonder if I should invite anyone," she said.

-

The week went by quickly, and Hermione hadn't asked anyone to the party. Before she knew it, it was Friday at about six o'clock, and Hermione was studying alone in the common room. She was wearing a nice outfit for the party, but nothing special. She supposed that Harry and Ginny were off in a broom closet trading tonsils, at least she hoped that's all they were doing. Their 'experiment on anatomy' they'd talked about the other day had her a bit concerned. She didn't notice a certain red-haired boy walking up to her until he said, "Er, hello."

She looked up in surprise. "Oh, hello Ron."

He looked at his trainers and shifted uncomfortably for a few seconds before saying, "Can I…er talk to you?"

"You are talking to me," she said with a small grin. "Have a seat."

He sat down and looked at her nervously. "I, er, well, I'm sorry I forgot about your birthday."

She stopped herself from smiling in victory. She wanted a full apology. She gazed into his eyes. "What else?"

"Er, well, covering up for it with that perfume."

"Go on."

"Getting mad at Harry for helping me."

"And?"

"Er, well, dating Lavender to make you jealous, and believing Harry had entered his own name in the goblet, and being jealous of Harry."

Hermione looked deep in thought for about a minute. "I think that about covers it."

Ron looked at her expectantly. "Well?" When she didn't respond for a few seconds, he asked, "Do you forgive me?"

"I'm not sure if I can. I mean, as soon as we had a fight you ran to another girl. How can I trust you?" said Hermione.

Ron took a deep breath as his ears turned pink. "Because I know that you're not like the other girls, now. I mean, Lavender is nothing like you. You're different. I don't know how to say it, but I promise not to go with another girl if you take me back." He put his head down and waited for her answer.

After about a minute of agonizing silence, Hermione sighed, "I suppose, since you asked so nicely, I could give you a chance. Sort of a probation. Tonight, in less than an hour, I'm going to a party. I can take a date if you want to go."

Ron's face broke out in a huge smile. "That sounds great!"

"Good. It's supposed to be a bit formal, so try to wear something nice."

"You mean like my dress robes?"

"No, not that formal. Just something nice."

-

Harry and Ginny had been practicing their animagus meditation, not snogging. After dinner they'd quickly changed into nicer clothes and left the common room for the one-eyed-witch passage. They got a little caught up in the training, so they were about five minutes late for the party. They opened the door to Slughorn's office, and were immediately greeted by the professor himself.

"Hello Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley! How wonderful to see you! I guess you lost track of time in a broom closet somewhere." He chuckled to himself while winking at them. "Let me introduce you around."

He took them from person to person around the room. Some people Harry knew. Others he didn't. He noticed that all of the champions were there with dates. Fred was with Angelina. Viktor was with Cho Chang. Fleur was with Cedric Diggory. Harry was surprised to see Hermione with Ron, but didn't comment on it. He knew that they were speaking to each other again, and figured that he'd find out what was going on soon enough.

The guest of honor was a famous witch who'd gotten the Order of Merlin, First Class for some thing Harry didn't even pay attention to. He was very bored with the party once he'd met everyone. He turned to Ginny and said sarcastically, "Enjoying yourself?"

She grinned. "About as much as you. I should never have come here with you."

"You didn't come with me; I came with you."

Ginny chuckled. "You asked first."

"But you declined," Harry said as he started chuckling.

"Why don't we leave together? I don't like pretending to enjoy myself," suggested Ginny.

They turned toward the door when Slughorn put his hand on Harry's shoulder and started talking. "Harry, my boy, we really haven't gotten a chance to truly know one another since I started teaching. I'd like to be friends with you. You know, with my connections I could help you to advance in almost any career. If you wanted to work in the ministry for example."

"For those idiots?" Harry exclaimed before he could help himself.

"What? You disapprove of the ministry?" said Slughorn, looking more interested than disapproving.

On the spot, Harry had to answer. "Well, it might be better now that Fudge is gone. I think Madam Bones is doing much better than he did. But in the past year or so, the ministry has seemed to be nothing but idiots. Take the Quidditch World Cup for example. I was there. There were hundreds of ministry people there, and they couldn't capture even one of the Death Eaters. Probably one of them was the person who impersonated Hagrid and entered me in the tournament. When the Dark Mark was conjured, almost all of the ministry people who should have been chasing the ones who were actually terrorizing muggles apparated to where Ginny and I were and shot at us instead, simply because we were near where the Dark Mark was conjured. To me, that proves they're idiots. How about how they locked up my godfather Sirius Black for twelve years without a trial, and then wanted to give him the Dementor's Kiss after he escaped. Hopefully Madam Bones will make a difference, but the point is that I can't control who's in charge of the ministry, but I'd have to obey them if I worked there."

"You really do have a good point there my boy. I've certainly seen the ministry make its share of blunders, and I don't think I'd want to be a part of those mistakes myself. So what are your goals, anyway?"

Harry's ears went pink. "I don't really know yet what I want to do after Hogwarts, but I know it won't by working for the ministry. Maybe a career in quidditch would be nice. I'm a fair flyer you know. I'm a pretty good Seeker."

"The best Seeker in the school, and you were the youngest Seeker in a century!" interrupted Ginny, who was still at his side. "You've caught the snitch with a broken arm, you even once caught it in your mouth. The only time you didn't get the snitch was when a hundred Dementors interrupted the game and nearly killed you."

"Well," said Slughorn, "I definitely have some connections in professional quidditch…"

-

About a half hour later, Harry and Ginny finally got out of there, after finding out that he was planning on having several more of those torture sessions. "Maybe I can claim I'm training for the tournament whenever he has a party," said Harry.

"And I'm helping you," added Ginny. "I wonder what's up with Ron and Hermione."

Harry sighed. "Who knows? Hopefully they got their differences sorted out."

-

Time flew by quickly. Ron and Hermione seemed to be getting along a lot better than they ever did before. Harry and Ginny were also getting along with Ron. About a week before the first task, Ron came into the common room looking petrified. He walked up to Fred and said shakily, "Come here. I've got something to tell both you and Harry."

Fred and George (who were getting along the same as usual) followed Ron as he walked up to where Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were seated together studying. "Hi Ron," said Hermione, "You look awful. What happened?"

"Ch-Ch-Charlie's here."

"That's great!" said Ginny. "Is he here to watch the tournament?"

"Actually," said Ron, "He's here to help with the first task. He brought four dragons." Ron swallowed as Ginny and Hermione paled. Harry looked terrified. Ron continued. "A Swedish Short-Snout, a Chinese Fireball, a Welsh Green, and a Hungarian Horntail. One for each champion."

"Um, er, well, thanks for the information," said Harry, getting up.

"Where are you going?" asked Ginny, as she got up and followed him.

"To call Sirius on my mirror!"

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."

They both bolted up the boys' staircase and Harry took his two-way mirror out of his trunk. Harry looked at it and shouted, "Sirius!"

A few seconds later, Sirius' image appeared. "Hi Harry. How are you doing? I hope this doesn't take too long, cause I'm on a date."

Harry blushed. "Er, it won't take long. I just found out that the first task is dragons."

"Dragons?" said Sirius incredulously. "Hold on a second."

The mirror faded for about a minute, and then Sirius' image appeared again. "I told her this would take a few minutes. Now the first thing to know about dragons is that you have to aim your spells at their eyes. What I suggest is…"

-

The week went by quickly, with Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione working together so that Harry could complete his strategy. Before he knew it, Fred, Viktor, Fleur, and himself were inside the tent waiting to find out what dragon they would have to face. Bagman brought in a purple silk sack and had them pull out a model of their dragons in turn. Fleur got the Welsh Green. Viktor got the Chinese Fireball. Fred got the Swedish Short-Snout. Harry, naturally got the Hungarian Horntail. The order they'd go was Fred, Fleur, Viktor, and Harry. Bagman pulled Harry aside to offer help, but Harry refused, saying that he knew what he was going to do. He rotated between nervously pacing and sitting down from the time that Fred went out to face his dragon, until it was his turn.

-

Professor Dumbledore looked at the gathered crowd. He knew that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as well as Sirius Black, were out there somewhere, mixed in with the huge crowd that was gathered for this event. He pointed his wand at his throat and said, "Sonorous," magically amplifying his voice. He then gave his speech. "Welcome, welcome witches and wizards alike, to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament!" There was a bit of applause for which he paused. "The question that's been on everyone's mind since the tournament began is about to be answered. The first task is…Dragons!" There was a huge gasp from the crowd. "Each champion will have to get the golden egg that their dragon is guarding. Now, the first champion will be Fred Weasley, going against a Swedish Short-Snout. Let the task begin."

A whistle was blown, and Fred Weasley walked happily out to the area with his wand in his right hand. He pointed it out toward the crowd and said, "Accio canary crème." Some kind of pastry floated out from the crowd where George was sitting. He caught the pastry and tossed it near the dragon. He then levitated the pastry near the dragons snout. The crowd started to chuckle as the dragon grabbed the pastry in its mouth and started chewing it. Fred started to inch closer to the eggs until there was a popping sound, and instead of a dragon, there was a canary. Fred ran as fast as he could past the confused bird. He grabbed the golden egg and ran to the proper tent just before it turned back into a dragon and let out a huge roar while the dragon keepers ran forward to subdue it. The crowd erupted in laughter and hand-clapping as Madam Pomfrey confirmed that he was uninjured. The judges scored him as follows. Dumbledore: 10, Karkaroff: 4, Maxime: 9, Bagman: 9, Crouch: 9 – 41 points.

-

From the tent, Harry heard that Fred had gotten past his dragon quickly, and judging by the laughter mixed in with the applause, he did it in a humorous manner. He waited for the next two champions, who took a lot longer to complete the task than Fred. Finally the whistle blew and it was Harry's turn.

The youngest champion walked out to face the Horntail, wand at the ready. He knew that the only vulnerable spot on the dragon was its eyes, and that he'd have to aim carefully if he'd hit the target. He walked out to where the dragon could see him and pointed his wand at the right eye, saying, "Stupefy." The dragon started to fall, but then caught itself and breathed fire toward him. Harry performed a freezing charm he'd learn for this task, which stopped him from getting burned. The now enraged dragon charged straight at Harry, who aimed at the left eye and shouted, "Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, Stupefy," until the monster finally fell down about two feet in front of the now shaken up raven-haired teenager. He took a deep breath and shook himself, not even noticing the applause as he slowly walked toward the eggs in a daze. He slowly picked it up and walked into the tent, still shell-shocked. He was quickly brought out of it by arms being thrown around him followed by a passionate yet short kiss.

When they separated, Harry looked like he'd been confunded. "G-Ginny?" he said. "I'm glad that's over!"

Sirius walked up and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Great job, cub! Although you really ticked off that dragon. I especially loved the way that you put out the fire with a freezing charm!"

Mrs. Weasley then engulfed Harry in a bone-crushing hug. Then Ron and Hermione congratulated him as well. The judges scored him as follows. Dumbledore: 10, Karkaroff: 4, Maxime: 9, Bagman: 10, Crouch: 9 – 42 points. Harry then asked, "How did Fred do?"

-

Naturally, Gryffindor house had the biggest party Harry had ever seen. It was even better than the one they'd had last year when they'd won the quidditch cup. The two best champions were the guests of honor. Fred was thoroughly enjoying the attention, but Harry simply was going along with it because otherwise he'd offend everyone. He was still a bit shaken up by how close that Horntail had gotten to him. He thought to himself, 'I should've just summoned my Firebolt and flown at the egg. That would've probably been easier.' During the party, Hermione asked George how to get to the kitchens, and the twins sold a ton of Canary Creams. Both Harry and Fred opened their golden eggs at the same time at the insistence of the crowd. They immediately closed those eggs at the insistence of their hurting ears. Fred joked about the loud, screeching sound, saying, "I think we'll have to survive Percy singing at us."

-

For the next week, Harry dreaded being in the halls. He was constantly either congratulated on his performance or hit on by girls. The latter truly irritated Ginny.

He was sitting in transfiguration class when Professor McGonagall announced, "This year on Christmas, we are going to have a Yule Ball."

-

Please review. Thanks to all who have reviewed.


	29. Chapter 29 Preparing for Christmas

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. 

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 29 – Preparing for Christmas**

That night at dinner, Harry was anxious for Ginny to show up at his table. Since the announcement for the ball just a few hours ago, five girls had already asked him there. The last one was some blonde Ravenclaw who he thinks was named Beth. As he sat down at the table, she walked up to him and asked him out. He said, "Er, I'm going out with someone. I'm gonna ask her."

She winked at him. "Surely someone like yourself can get someone better than Ginny Weasley. A champion should go with someone older, who…"

Harry lost his temper. "I'M GOING OUT WITH GINNY BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" he shouted so that the whole hall heard. "I suggest you go back to the Ravenclaw table!"

As the girl walked away, he felt two arms slip around his waist from behind. He heard Ginny's voice whisper in his ear. "I love you too," before she kissed his cheek.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Ginny, it's so good to see you!"

She sat down next to him. "It's good to see you, and to hear you shouting a declaration of your love for me, but what was that about?"

"Oh, the Yule Ball. She wanted me to take her there."

"So," she said with a smirk on her face, "is there anyone in particular that you were planning on asking?"

"Well," he said with a grin, "There's this cute redhead Gryffindor third year I thinking of asking. Do you think you could give me advice on how I could ask her?"

She looked like she was thinking hard. "Well, I'd say that after dinner, you should drag her into a broom closet and snog her until she forgets what Christmas is, and then ask her."

"Then I'd say I need to hurry up and eat."

"Me too."

Harry looked in his girlfriend's eyes. "There is one thing that worries me about this dance."

"Oh, what's that?"

He took a deep breath. "The champions have to start the dancing in front of everybody, and I don't know how to dance."

Ginny's ears went pink as she dropped her fork. "We have to dance in front of everybody?"

Harry smiled, "Only if you'll agree to be my date."

"I'm being serious, Harry. I for one don't want to make a fool of myself in front of the whole school. I can dance a bit, but not enough to be the center of attention, but if you can't dance at all, we're in trouble. We need to take dancing lessons."

"Er, alright. If you find someone to teach us, I'll go to the lessons. But do I still get to drag you into a broom closet?"

She winked at him. "Anytime Harry, anytime."

-

That Saturday morning, Ginny dragged him to the transfiguration classroom to meet with Professor McGonagall. She had agreed to give them their much needed dance lessons. "Good morning Potter, Weasley."

"Good morning, Professor," said Harry.

"Morning Professor McGonagall," said Ginny.

"Well, we all know why we're here," Minerva said as she walked over to a record player and started some ballroom music. "The first thing we should do is…."

-

Thirty minutes later, Ginny was leaning on Harry as he said, "I can't tell you how sorry I am, Ginny. I didn't mean to step on you like that."

"I know Harry," she said stiffly, "Just get me to the hospital wing!"

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you?"

"I'm sure…Ow. Maybe you should!"

"Okay." He picked her up and she put her arms around his neck. "Is that better?"

"Yes," she said, smiling as she gazed in his eyes.

"I know you don't want me to keep apologizing, but I'm so…"

She sighed. "I know you're sorry Harry, and I'm not mad at you. It's my fault for not wearing steel-toed boots."

Harry chuckled to himself. "Maybe I should've gone with one of those other girls. I'm sure you wouldn't have minded seeing them sent to the hospital wing."

"If you'd have agreed to go with one of them, you'd be the one needing a healer."

As he carried her through the halls of the school, they received more that one catcall until finally they entered their destination. "Madam Pomfrey," said Harry frantically as he set Ginny down on a bed, "I was, that is we were practicing dancing when I accidentally stepped on her foot."

Madam Pomfrey looked at Ginny's left foot closely. The middle of it was black and blue, and it was swelling. Pomfrey pointed her wand at the foot, and it glowed red. She looked at Harry with a strange expression. "Would you mind waiting outside?" she said stiffly.

"Er, um, if I have to," he said.

"Then go."

As soon as Harry stepped outside the door, Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at it, and it hit Harry's backside. The door then glowed green and the nurse looked into Ginny's eyes. "You have a hairline fracture."

"Is that serious?" asked Ginny, confused by the concerned expression on her face.

"I can heal it in a heartbeat, but I need to know, did you two have a fight? Was he mad at you?"

Ginny's face paled. "Are you asking if he purposely broke my foot?"

"I know it's hard for victims to admit being abused, especially when it's a famous person like Harry. If he has a problem, we need to help…"

Ginny started laughing out loud, "I-I'm sorry. Harry would never purposely hurt me. Honestly, Professor McGonagall saw the whole thing. She was giving us a dance lesson. He was listening to her and not paying attention. He stepped down on my foot hard, but it was completely an accident. He's been apologizing profusely while carrying me the whole way here. I swear he's just a bad dancer. Could you please let him in now? He's probably right outside the door scared to death that I'm gonna have my foot amputated. He's probably planning on offering to have his foot transplanted onto my leg.

Madam Pomfrey's expression lightened. "Very well, but let me first heal your foot." She pointed her wand at Ginny's foot. It glowed pink for a moment, and then Poppy declared the foot healed. She then released the door and Harry ran in straight to Ginny's bed and got down on his knees at the side.

"I AM SO SORRY! I'LL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE UP FOR IT! If you need me to carry you to every class you have until you graduate, I'll do it. I…"

"I'm fine, Harry," she said wiggling her toes with a grin as she sat up to get off the bed. "I had a hairline fracture."

"I-I don't know what to say. When she pushed me out the door, I was so scared."

"I just wanted to talk to Miss Weasley alone," said Madam Pomfrey, "That's all. She's free to leave now, so you can escort her to Gryffindor Tower. Make sure she takes it easy for the rest of the day. That means no dancing, running, jogging, or similar activities until tomorrow."

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey," said Harry. "I'm sorry I caused such trouble. I'm just so clumsy."

Harry took Ginny's hand and helped her up. Together they walked toward Gryffindor Tower. Harry asked, "Why did she really want to see you alone? Did I hurt you worse than she said? I need to know."

"The truth is," said Ginny, "that she asked me if you did it on purpose. She was afraid you were abusing me."

"What?" he asked, stopping dead in his tracks. He then put his head down. "I guess it does look that way. No one could believe I'm that clumsy. Are you sure you want to go to the dance with me?"

"Yes! You just need to learn how to dance properly. I'll wear protective footwear to our next lesson, and I suggest you take off your shoes for it. Maybe we can work on your egg today."

-

They arrived in the common room to find Ron waiting for them with Hermione looking nervous. Ron immediately started yelling, "I heard you carried my sister around half the school today! Just what are you trying to prove by that?"

Harry stared at Ron for about ten seconds before answering. "That I'm a clutz! I accidentally hurt her foot and carried her to the hospital wing."

Ron looked deflated for a second as Hermione looked relieved. Then Ron said, "So you hurt my sister, did you. I warned you about that!"

"AS IF YOU COULD TAKE HIM ON!" shouted Ginny. "You may not have noticed, but he took out a dragon! Charlie told me that it usually takes about five wizards to do that! He was absolutely shocked by it! Secondly, that's not the kind of hurt you were talking about! Thirdly, it was just an accident!"

Trying to diffuse the argument, Hermione said, "So, what were you doing when you had your accident?"

Harry looked down to the floor in shame while Ginny smirked. "Dancing lessons. McGonagall was teaching us how to dance and he accidentally stomped on my foot."

"So," said Hermione, smiling a bit, "Did Madam Pomfrey soak it in murtlap essence?"

"Er, actually," said Ginny while Harry's ears went pink, "She mended the bone. It had a hairline fracture."

"You broke my sister's foot! You could be arrested for that!"

Harry looked up with a sad expression. "And I'd deserve it. Madam Pomfrey kicked me out of the room and asked Ginny if I was abusing her. I'll see you all later." He then marched up the boys' staircase without another word.

"DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID, RONALD?" shouted Ginny, "He feels bad enough about this as it is! He's probably apologized fifty times by now! When Madam Pomfrey kicked him out of the room, he thought he'd seriously hurt me! When he was finally allowed back in the room he kneeled down by the bed he'd carried me to and apologized again, promising to carry me to every class I have until I graduate if he has to. Even after he'd been assured I was fine, he asked me if I was sure I wanted to go to the dance with him!" She then marched up the same staircase Harry had.

-

Harry was sitting on his bed feeling miserable. 'How can I be so stupid and clumsy?' he asked himself. 'What is wrong with me? Maybe I really am a freak!' He heard some footfalls and turned his head to see who had followed him. He really already knew Ginny would, but wanted to make sure before he said, "Hi Ginny. I love you. I-I never wanted to…"

"I know, Harry. You don't have to apologize again. It's no big deal."

"It is to me! How would you feel if you broke my foot?"

Ginny stood there for a moment in shock, trying to see it from a different perspective. "Pretty rotten. Kind of like I felt when I got all those people petrified."

"That was different," Harry argued. "That wasn't you. You were possessed by Tom. I was…"

"…possessed by clumsiness?" supplied Ginny with a smirk. She walked up to him and sat next to him on the bed. "I guess I haven't shown you that I forgive you yet." She put her arms around him, and tentatively kissed him. At first he resisted, but she was insistent and aggressive, showing him that she harbored no ill feelings toward him.

When Ron came up the stairs with Hermione, Harry and Ginny were in the middle of a full-blown snog on his bed. "Oi! Get off my sister!" Ron shouted, causing them to break apart. "I don't understand you Ginny! He breaks your foot and then you snog him! How can you let him take advantage of you like that?"

"He's NOT taking advantage of me! You may notice, I came up to his bed of my own free will! It's none of your business what I do with my boyfriend! I ought to start shagging him to prove my point!" said Ginny.

"You're thirteen years old, Ginny," said Hermione, reasonably. "You really are too young for that, and even if you weren't, annoying your brother is hardly a reason to start."

"I was exaggerating, Hermione!" Ginny spit back. "But I wouldn't mind Ron thinking that I was shagging Harry! At least then he wouldn't be upset by our snogging!"

Hermione responded softly, "All right Ginny. I was just making sure. You two have seemed a bit more…passionate lately."

Harry's face turned red at that statement. He was keeping quiet. He did not want yet another fight.

"If you mean that I've shown more concern for him since his name came out of the goblet of fire, maybe I have. I don't know. I do know that I love Harry and he loves me. The whole school knows Harry loves me. So Ron, have you asked Hermione to the ball yet?"

Ron's ears turned pink, but Hermione answered. "Yes he did. The day it was announced."

"And it's a good thing, too. Viktor Krum, who took Cho Chang to that party, actually asked Hermione to the Yule Ball earlier today."

"He seemed so polite when he was asking, but once I refused, he got mad and stormed off. He couldn't believe it when I told him no."

"I'd guess that he's used to girls saying 'yes' to him," said Harry. "He probably would have been nice and polite and all that if you'd have said 'yes.' But he may never have experienced a girl rejecting him before. Anyway, with all the girls I've seen chasing him, I'm sure he'll find a date. Hopefully he'll ask Cho Chang before she comes after me again."

-

Later that day, at Ginny and Hermione's insistence, the four of them were discussing Harry's egg clue.

"When you open it up, all it does is scream," said Hermione. "That's not a useful clue."

"You mean when you open it up in here, it screams," said Ginny.

"What, do you want to try it in the library and see if it screams there too?" said Ron sarcastically.

"No…I think I know what she's trying to say," said Harry. "When we open it up in normal air, it screams, so maybe air is bad for it."

Hermione gasped, "Maybe it breathes something else."

"It's an egg," said Ron. "It doesn't breathe anything."

"So you're suggesting opening it up where there's no air," said Harry, completely ignoring Ron.

Ron shook his head. "What are you gonna try? Opening the bloody thing underwater?"

"Actually Ron," said Ginny, "That's exactly what I was gonna suggest."

Ron looked at his sister like she'd grown an extra head. "You do know you're mental, don't you?"

"It can't hurt to try," said Harry. "I'm taking it to the bathroom and opening it in the sink to see what happens. I just wish there was a bathtub there instead of just showers."

-

A few minutes later, Harry and Ron (the girls couldn't go in the boys bathroom) were filling up one of the sinks with the egg inside it silently. When the water covered the egg, Harry stuck his hands into the sink and opened it. This time, it did not wail. A gurgling sound was coming out of it, a song whose words he couldn't distinguish through the water. "I wonder if I can get my ear in the water to listen," Harry said as he turned his head to try. He had to put a little more water in the sink, but finally managed it. The song said,

"_Come seek us where our voices sound, __We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour – the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back_."

After they'd told the girls what the song said, Hermione concluded, "It sounds like they're gonna take something important to you and hide it in the Black Lake, probably with mer-people."

"So I'm gonna have to hold my breath underwater for an hour!" exclaimed Harry.

"There's got to be a way," reasoned Ginny. "They wouldn't have made this task if it was impossible."

Hermione said, "We've got plenty of time to search the library for answers. I'll start tonight. We should also find spells to fight underwater with."

-

The next day, Harry advised Fred to open his egg underwater and listen to the song it played. The next month passed quickly, with Hermione searching the library most of the time, although Ginny and Harry made it a point to be researching in the library during all the Slug Club meetings. They found spells that would repel things like grindylows and merpeople, but not how to breath.

Finally, just before school was out for Christmas Break, Hermione had discovered an answer. "It's called the bubblehead charm," she said. "You cast it and you've got a bubble of air around your head that will allow you to breathe for up to three hours."

"All right," said Harry. "I'm sure you'll make sure I learn the charm, but I'd really like some kind of advantage over the competition."

"Hmm," said Ginny, "maybe you could get something to help you swim faster."

"Flippers!" shouted Hermione.

"What?" asked Ron and Ginny at the same time.

"Muggles use them as a type of shoe you can wear underwater. It extends your feet so…Oh never mind the explanation. The point is they could help Harry. If I teach Harry to transfigure his shoes into flippers once he gets there, he should be allowed to do it before the contest starts. He's allowed to wear shoes if he wants to. He should perform the bubblehead charm once the contest starts. He should start practicing the spells tonight, so that he has them mastered in time to practice swimming underwater with flippers."

-

Hermione, Ginny, and Ron spent most of the beginning of Christmas Break working with Harry. Truthfully, Hermione was the most help, but Ron and Ginny didn't want to feel left out. Hermione had decided that it would be best to just extend the soles of his shoes, since shoes fasten much more securely than flippers anyway and are less likely to fall off. He was making some progress with both that and the bubblehead charm, and Hermione was confident Harry would have both spells mastered before the break was over. All he had to do was keep practicing.

Ginny had gotten Harry to continue dancing lessons, and he had actually managed to dance very well by the end of there sixth lesson. No other mishaps occurred, because Harry was always watching Ginny's feet. Professor McGonagall suspected that his fear of hurting Ginny is what made him take so long to learn to dance.

Ginny and Harry also were close to discovering their animagus forms. Sirius, who they'd kept informed of their progress, was certain that before the break was over, they'd be able to perform the animagus meditation. Once they could do that to see their forms, Sirius said it would only take a few months to be able to transform at the rate they were progressing.

Before he knew it, Harry was going to bed on Christmas Eve. He'd mail ordered most of his gifts for Ginny so that she didn't see what he bought while they were at Hogsmeade. He went to sleep nervous, hoping that his plans on giving Ginny the best Christmas of her life would succeed.

-

Please review. Thank you to all of my reviewers.


	30. Chapter 30 An Interesting Christmas

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 30 – An Interesting Christmas**

Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Dobby had come and given him a pair of mismatched socks he'd made for him, and Harry gave Dobby a pair of old socks. But when Dobby pointed out that the two socks Harry had given him were the same, Ron gave him a pair as well, along with a jumper.

Harry received a special penknife from Sirius, a Quidditch book from Hermione, a bag of Dungbombs from Ron, and a Weasley sweater with a dragon on the front. One thing however, did concern him. He hadn't gotten anything from Ginny. 'Then again,' he thought, 'I should be glad she hasn't broken up with me yet.'

-

At the same time, in the third-year girls' dorm, an auburn-haired girl had woken up minutes ago. After she'd opened her other gifts, including a sweater from her mum, she gasped when she noticed that Harry had sent her gifts. She'd planned on handing hers to him personally, but hadn't mentioned anything about it. The first gift she'd noticed was a small glass vase on her nightstand with a dozen red roses. She then noticed that a mug of steaming hot chocolate was next to the vase. She then opened a package and found it was a small wooden plaque with a poem carved into it. She took a drink of the beverage, and was happy to note it was the perfect temperature, as she read the poem.

'Your eyes are as brown as this hot chocolate

Your hair is as red as the roses I sent

I fought a dragon

Your present to win

Hope you have the best Christmas yet'

Ginny smiled at the poem, although she didn't know what the dragon had to do with it, until she noticed another small package from Harry. She opened it to find a small magically animated model of a Hungarian Horntail. She giggled at it and started to gently pet its head. She thought to herself, 'How did Harry know I wanted his horntail model?'

-

Harry was wearing his new Weasley sweater while nervously waiting for Ginny at the bottom of the stairs. He knew she didn't want him to spend much, but he felt that maybe he should have. He did have one other present for her, but that would wait until they were about to go to the ball. He decided not to say anything about the lack of a present from Ginny. She was going to the Yule Ball with him. That was enough of a present. Finally, he saw her descend down the stairs wearing a pair of jeans and a light green Weasley jumper. She was smiling at him as she carried her mug of hot chocolate with her. "Happy Christmas, Harry!" she said as she reached the bottom.

Instead of saying anything, he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her deeply. When they separated, Harry said, "Happy Christmas, Ginny! Have I ever told you how beautiful your smile is?"

She blushed at her boyfriend. "Not nearly enough."

-

They spent most of the day together, and took a walk around the frozen lake right after lunch. While they were outside, Ginny stopped and turned to Harry. "You never asked about what I'm giving you for Christmas."

He took her cold hands in his as he smiled at her. "You're going to the ball with me. That's enough of a present. More than I…"

"You deserve to be showered with gifts for how good you've been to me!" said Ginny emphatically. "You really thought I didn't get you anything?"

Harry looked down and shuffled his feet. "Er, well…"

"And you acted like nothing at all was wrong. I don't know whether to be mad that you thought I wouldn't get you a present or happy you love me whether I get you a present or not."

"I vote that you should be happy."

She gave him an amused look. "Hm. Anyway, my point is that I did get you a few gifts." She then pulled a small box out of her pocket and handed it to Harry. He opened it to find a gold pin the shape of a dragon. "It's made of genuine imitation gold," said Ginny shyly, "but I think it looks nice. If you don't mind, I'd like you to wear it to the ball."

Harry smiled at her. "It's beautiful. Of course I'll wear it. Thank you." He then kissed her cheek.

She then pulled a dark-green scarf out of another pocket. "I, er, thought that wrapping paper would get ripped in my pocket. I, er, hope you like it. I made it myself."

He kissed her quickly on the mouth and then said, "You didn't have to do that. It's very nice." He then took it from her and wrapped it around himself.

-

The day progressed and finally Ron, wearing his nice black dress robes and Harry, wearing bottle green (with his new pin), were waiting in the common room for their dates. Harry didn't have to wait long for Ginny, who came down the stairs wearing a simple yet beautiful pastel-green dress. She was wearing the silver necklace with a heart shaped ruby he'd given her the previous Christmas, along with the gold rose-shaped brooch he'd given her for her birthday. Her auburn hair was arranged in a way Harry had never seen before, but hoped he'd see again. He immediately said, "You look beautiful."

Ginny's face turned a light shade of pink as she looked down at her dress. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it."

"Not just the dress, although it is beautiful. I mean you are beautiful," Harry said as he took her hand. "Before we go, there's something else I'd like to give you." He then pulled his left hand out from behind his back and produced a red rose wrist corsage, which she allowed him to place on her left wrist.

She blushed. "Harry, you didn't have to do that."

While they were talking, Harry chuckled lightly as he watched Ron's jaw drop. Hermione walked down the stairs wearing a beautiful periwinkle blue dress. Harry and Ginny both said, "Hermione, you look beautiful!" at the same time.

She blushed and said, "Thank you."

Ron, who's face was pink, closed his jaw and stuttered, "Yeah, Yeah, y-you look…wow!"

Hermione shyly giggled as Harry took Ginny's hand and said, "Shall we go?"

Ginny answered, "We shall indeed," and they walked off, leaving Ron dazed as Hermione waited for him to escort her.

-

A few minutes after Harry and Ginny arrived outside the Great Hall, they saw Ron and Hermione approaching. Before they could speak to the other couple however, they were led up to the round table where the champions and partners were to sit, along with the judges of the tournament. Percy immediately joined Harry and Ginny, bragging about his promotion. Percy then started talking about how much Mr. Crouch trusted him and blah, blah, blah. "Has he stopped calling you Weatherby yet?" asked Harry cheerfully, causing Percy to close his mouth as his face turned red while Ginny laughed her head off. Once Percy shut up, Harry started really enjoying himself. He also found himself getting nervous about dancing with Ginny. As he saw the Weird Sisters troop onto the stage, he turned to Ginny and nervously said, "I-It looks like it's time," then took her hand and said, "Shall we?"

They walked onto the brightly lit dance floor and began waltzing, just as they'd practiced. As he gazed into her chocolate eyes, his nervousness disappeared. When the next song, which was a faster one, started playing, Harry was happy to keep dancing.

After five songs, they took a break and Harry got drinks for himself and Ginny. When he got back to Ginny, he found her sitting at a table talking to Ron and Hermione. They chatted about nothing for a few minutes until Colin Creevey walked up to Ginny and said, "May I have this dance?" very politely.

Ginny looked over at her boyfriend. "Is that alright with you, Harry?"

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Er, well, as much as I'd like to keep you to myself all evening, if you want to dance with him, you can as long as you come back to me."

She looked at Colin and said, "One dance," and took his arm.

While they were walking away, Harry turned to Hermione. "May I have this dance?"

Hermione smiled at Harry. "Yes you may."

Harry didn't see the glare Ron gave him as he walked off with Hermione. As they began to dance, Harry said, "I know I already said it, but you really look fantastic."

She blushed, "Thank you."

"You're the second-most-beautiful girl here. Ron's really lucky to have you."

"Thanks. You're the second-most-handsome bloke here, and Ginny is very lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one," said Harry.

She stared in his eyes for a moment, "You really mean that, Harry. It's so easy to see in your eyes how much you adore her. It's just as easy to see how much she adores you. I've watched your relationship develop all this time and it still amazes me how close the two of you are. You really have something special together."

Harry looked into Hermione's eyes. "And I never want to lose it. I want to spend all my life with her."

-

"So," said Colin as he danced with Ginny, "You've been dating Harry Potter for one-and-a-half years now. I'll bet it's amazing!"

Ginny giggled a bit and sighed. "He is amazing, Colin."

"A lot of girls are wondering when you're going to cut the shackles off of him so that they can have a go with him. As far as they know, you're the only girl that ever got to date him. They don't think it's fair. Some of them say you've been hogging him all to yourself and should let him go. I think that a famous bloke like him should date a lot of girls."

Ginny's ears turned pink. "We happen to be in love, Colin, no matter what anybody else thinks! He doesn't act like I've got him in shackles. He thinks he's the luckiest guy in the world to be dating me. I know I'm really the lucky one, but the point is that I'm not going to willingly let him go. I want to spend my whole life with him."

-

The moment that both Harry and Ginny proclaimed their wish to spend the rest of their lives together, their bond reached a new level that would soon start to manifest itself.

-

Soon after, Harry was tapped on the shoulder while continuing his dance with Hermione. He turned to see Viktor Krum standing there. Viktor said to Harry, "May I cut in?"

Hermione answered, "No you may not, Krum!"

"I vas speaking to Harry."

Harry grinned evilly. "Viktor, I afraid I don't want to dance with you either."

Viktor's ears turned red. "How dare vou suggest that? I vant to dance vith Hermy-own!"

Harry's expression turned firm. "Her-my-oh-nee said she didn't want to dance with you, so I suggest you find another partner."

"Vis isn't over, Potter!" Krum said as he walked away angrily as the music stopped.

"What did Krum want?" asked Ron, who had just walked up. "It looked like he was starting trouble."

"He was," said Hermione with a sigh, "but it's over now."

"That's not what he said a minute ago," said Ron. "What happened?"

They walked back to a table as another song started playing. When he saw Hermione wasn't answering, Harry said, "Krum asked to dance with Hermione, but she didn't want to. He started getting pushy."

"Then why did he threaten you and not Hermione?"

"He seemed to think that I had no choice in the matter, that it was up to Harry whether I danced with Krum or not. Harry disagreed. I was afraid they were going to have a fight right here."

Ron seemed upset. "Defending Hermione is my job, Harry!"

"I can defend myself! Thank you very much!" Hermione hissed.

Harry sighed. He didn't want to fight with Ron. "Hermione's my friend, and I'm certainly not gonna hand her to some bloke she doesn't want to dance with."

Further discussion stopped when a loud slap echoed through the Great Hall. He turned to the source of the sound to see that Ginny had slapped a Ravenclaw boy who had his arms around her with his hands in an inappropriate place. Harry thought the git was named Michael. The boy's cheek was getting redder by the second. Harry (along with Ron, Fred, and George) immediate started walking toward the commotion as Ginny started screaming. "HOW DARE YOU KISS ME LIKE THAT! I HAVE A BOYFRIEND, AND EVEN IF I DIDN'T, I WOULDN'T KISS YOU IF YOU WERE THE LAST THING ON THIS PLANET! LET GO OF ME!"

She then pulled back her hand to slap him again when Ron shouted, "We'll take care of this Ginny!"

Michael Corner looked in that direction to see Ron and Harry walking toward him, with murder in their eyes. He turned another direction, and saw Fred and George coming at him, looking equally ready to kill. Michael let go of Ginny and started slowly backing away, a look of dread in his face as three angry Weasleys and a dragon-slayer kept walking toward him. He then bumped into someone. He turned to see an unhappy Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Corner, your behavior is unacceptable! I suggest you come with me. I believe you will find fifty points from Ravenclaw and a week of detentions starting now preferable to what those four have in mind for you."

The four watched Michael retreat with McGonagall, but they all silently nodded at each other, agreeing that this wasn't over. Harry then walked over to Ginny who said, "I could've handled it, Harry! You didn't have to…"

"Ginny! I know you can handle yourself, but as someone who loves you, I want to help. Wouldn't you try to help me?" He then hugged her.

She took a deep breath and put her arms around Harry. "I-I'm so mad! How could he?"

Harry kissed her cheek. "Do you want to tell me what happened? I thought you were dancing with Colin."

"Well, after that song ended, I saw you talking to Ron and Hermione, and Michael asked if he could dance with me. I figured you were busy, so I said yes. While we were dancing, he started saying I was pretty and he liked me, so I said I was dating you and thought everybody knew that. The git then started saying how much better he was than you, and he put his hands on my bum and kissed me! That's when I slapped him and I think you heard the rest."

"I think they heard the rest at Durmstrang," said Harry.

"I need to wash my lips from that prat!" She sighed. "So that's what it's like for someone to force you to kiss them. He actually tried to stick his tongue in my mouth! Maybe I should've let him and bit his tongue off!"

"He'd deserve it," agreed Harry, "but it would make me nervous about snogging you if you'd done that."

"I noticed Percy didn't come to my defense," said Ginny coldly. Then she grinned wickedly at Harry. "Whatever you guys are doing to Michael, I want in on it."

Harry smiled back at her. "Sure, but we want to plan it good. He deserves to suffer. It'll have to be after school starts up again.

-

The rest of the evening went by uneventfully, with Hermione and Ginny only dancing with their respective boyfriends. After Ginny had washed out her mouth, she insisted on Harry snogging her thoroughly to get rid of any 'residual traces' of Michael. The next day the Hogwarts Express took anybody who didn't want to stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the break. This of course included Harry, who would be attending his custody hearing that Monday, as well as his friends. He and Ginny also planned on performing the animagus meditation over the break with Sirius' help.

-

Please review. Thanks to all who have.


	31. Chapter 31 Parents

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 31 – Parents**

"The hearing for the custody of Harry James Potter will now come to order, the honorable judge Alyssa Buchanan presiding," said the ministry official acting as bailiff while Harry watched. It had been two days since he'd left Hogwarts, and he already missed Ginny. She had wanted to come to the hearing, but was not allowed to attend because one of her aunts was visiting with her family for a few days and Ginny had to help her mother prepare the house for their arrival the next day. Harry had been staying at the newly redecorated Black Manor, located at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

A severe-looking red-haired woman who appeared to be in her thirties wearing black official-looking robes was sitting in the judge's bench. She said, "Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, whose name has recently been cleared, has requested that he be awarded legal custody of his godson. The Ministry of Magic sent a notice to Mr. Potter's muggle guardians," she looked down at a scroll in front of her, "…the Dursleys, and they sent it back with a note that said, 'If someone else wants the freak, they can have him!'" She then put down the scroll and faced the court. "Anyone who can write that about their own nephew is obviously an inappropriate guardian." She then said, "Sirius Black, would you take the stand?"

"Certainly," Padfoot said as he got up and walked to the center of the courtroom. After he'd been sworn in and taken a seat, he looked to the judge expectantly.

"According to your petition," said Judge Buchanan, you were a close friend of James and Lily Potter, and they asked you to be Harry's godfather. Is that true?"

"Yes ma'am."

"It also states that the day after their tragic death, you were framed and imprisoned for betraying them, thus making you unable to fulfill your role as Harry's godfather until you were recently cleared of all charges. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Harry Potter is a celebrity in our world, and so many people would wish to adopt him. Can you tell me why you would make a good guardian for Harry Potter?"

Sirius sighed. "First of all, I gave my word I would to his parents. Secondly, I love him. I've loved him like my own son since the day he was born."

"According to the petition, you're very well off financially, so that won't be a problem."

Sirius smiled, as did Harry. Black said, "That's also true, but even if I were poor, I'd still be making this petition. I think it's important that Harry be raised by someone who knew his parents. The Dursleys usually refuse to speak of his parents, except to speak ill about them. The Dursleys told him that his parents were alcoholics who died in a car crash before he got his Hogwarts letter."

"Very well. You may be seated, but I must inform you that someone else has filed for custody, and he is about to enter the courtroom."

"What?" asked Sirius as he walked to his seat.

Harry looked where a ministry official opened the door, allowing the entrance of…Lucius Malfoy.

Harry glared at the pompous Death Eater as he strutted in, carrying his awesome walking stick with a snake handle (just because Harry despised the man didn't mean his wand-holder wasn't cool). For a few seconds, Harry felt rage that this…thing…was trying to ruin his life, and then suddenly for no apparent reason he felt calm again.

-

At the Burrow, Ginny was drying a glass plate, when suddenly an incredible rage came over her, and she threw the plate down and grabbed another, intent on breaking that as well. Before she could, she felt arms grab her from behind. Ginny's face was red with rage as she struggled against her mother holding her arms behind her back.

"What's wrong dear!" asked/yelled Molly.

"I…he….I…I don't know!" shouted Ginny as felt herself breathing heavily, feeling furious for some reason. "Harry! There's something wrong….I…I don't know what, but he's very angry."

"Come now, sweetheart," Molly said, calming down, "I know you want to go his custody hearing, but you just can't. I'm sure that everything will go fine and you'll be celebrating with Harry soon enough. You can't let yourself give in to your anxiety and start imagining things." She pointed her wand at the broken plate. "Reparo. You see, no harm done. Now I really need you to keep working."

-

Lucius had been sworn in while Harry and Sirius both glared at him. The judge said, "Mr. Malfoy, why is it that you believe you would make a better guardian for Mr. Potter than Sirius Black?"

Lucius gave a charming smile. "I've always been concerned about the welfare of young Harry Potter, and was quite distressed when Professor Dumbledore put him someplace that no one knew until Harry started Hogwarts. I was further concerned to learn that he'd been placed with muggles who despise our world. All that young Harry knows of our world he has picked up at Hogwarts. I can teach young Harry of our ways. I'm also concerned that poor Mr. Black may suffer some long term affects from the Dementors because of his long, unjust imprisonment in Azkaban. He may prove to unintentionally affect Harry adversely…"

As Harry sat there listening, he was surprisingly calm as he imagined how much manure Lucius had filled the room with during his speech. Because he was calm, he was able to realize he would be able to have his say before the hearing was over instead of standing up and screaming, which is probably what Lucius wanted – to prove how 'out-of-control' he was, and therefore in need of a 'proper family.' After Malfoy had gone on and on about how wonderful his family was (and Harry could almost smell the manure now) and how terrific life with them would be, Harry was finally called to the stand and sworn in.

Judge Buchanan said, "Well Harry, you've been offered two different homes today. One with just a father, and the other with a father, mother, and brother. What do you think of this?"

Harry calmly considered what he could say. He knew that at the moment the Malfoys were held in high regard, and the accusations of a teenager would get him nowhere. He smiled at the judge.

"While I certainly appreciate the generous offer of Mr. Malfoy, I truly don't believe I'd be happy there. I'm not very familiar with his family, apart from his son. He may be unaware of the fact that his son Draco and I have been rivals since the day we met on the Hogwarts express. We do not get along very well. I believe that it would place both of us in a difficult position if we had to live together. I certainly wouldn't wish to disrupt his home. I also believe that my parents were aware of the fact that Sirius is single when they asked him to be my godfather. The fact that he is the guardian that my parents chose means a lot to me, not only because it would fulfill their wishes, but because Sirius is better equipped to tell me about my parents. You see, I never got the chance to talk to them and am always eager to learn more about them from others. I have had many opportunities to get to know Sirius better since his name was cleared, beginning with the celebration that we had. We have regularly corresponded since then, and I feel truly close to him, and he hasn't seemed strange or emotionally unstable to me. Sirius asked for my permission to apply for guardianship, while Mr. Malfoy, no doubt in his zeal to try to help me, did not. That consideration also means a lot to me. I have no wish to insult the Malfoys, and truly appreciate their kindness, but if I get to choose my guardian, I choose Sirius."

Harry serenely watched Mr. Malfoy's face turning redder and redder as Harry's speech kept on going. He didn't know why Lucius wanted to adopt him, but he knew it wasn't out of concern for his well-being. After being dismissed from the stand, he took his seat and looked back at the judge.

The judge said, "While the court, as well as Mr. Potter, does appreciate the generosity of the Malfoy family, we place the child's wishes in the highest regard because forcing a child to live where he does not wish would only serve to make the transition that much harder. Many children in that situation have even run away. Therefore, I have decided to award custody of Harry Potter to Sir…"

"WAIT! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" shouted Malfoy, losing control. "The boy is obviously unstable and doesn't know what he wants! He needs…"

"Mr. Malfoy! You are out of order!" shouted the judge over Malfoy's rant. "Harry Potter seems to be one of the most well-adjusted and polite young men I've handled a custody hearing for. If you think that he's unstable, then I'm glad that I decided to award custody to Sirius Black. Case dismissed."

-

At the Burrow, the unexplained rage Ginny was feeling was replaced with joy. Molly watched her daughter's countenance change from angry to happy in a matter of seconds. "Ginny dear, are you all right?"

Ginny blinked a few times, confused about her feelings. "I-I'm fine. Everything's fine! Everything's wonderful!"

-

As Sirius and Harry made their way out of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place, Sirius said, "You handled yourself very well in there. For a moment I thought you were going to lose your temper when Malfoy said he wanted to adopt you."

Harry looked in his godfather's eyes. "For a moment, I thought I was going to as well. I almost started screaming when Lucius Malfoy took the stand, but then suddenly I felt calm, and was able to think."

"I thought I was gonna lose control and start laughing when you talked about how you appreciated Malfoy's generosity."

"I figured that if I simply said what they are, the judge wouldn't believe me, and would think I was crazy. I'd have ended up at St. Mungo's or the Malfoy Estate."

"I'm pretty sure that's what Lucius expected. What I don't know is why he wanted you in the first place."

Harry answered thoughtfully, "Either to kill me, torture me, or use me. My guess is that he'd try using the Imperious curse on me to do whatever he wants. If that didn't work, he'd torture me." Harry took a deep breath. "I think I'll call Ginny to tell her how it went."

-

Ron was taking a break from degnoming the garden, reading a letter (more like a novel) from Hermione in the living room when Harry's head appeared in the fireplace. "Hey Ron," he called, getting Ron's attention.

Ron looked up. "Oh, Hi Harry." Ron then shouted, "Ginny! Harry's on the floo!" He turned back to Harry. "How'd the hearing go? It's all Ginny seems to be talking about."

"Sirius Black is now my guardian! I never have to see the Dursleys again!"

"That's great!" said both Ron and Ginny (who'd just entered the room).

"That's wonderful news!" said Mrs. Weasley, who'd also come when she heard Ron yell. She then glanced at her daughter and asked, "So, Harry, dear, were there any problems at the hearing?"

Harry's face became expressionless. "Lucius Malfoy showed up and tried to get custody of me."

All three redheads' eyes bulged out at that statement. Ginny spoke. "I'll bet you were upset to see him there, huh?"

Harry looked deep in thought for a few seconds before answering. "I was at first, but then I somehow calmed down and was able to think. Something just came over me. Anyway, things worked out fine, so we're having a party here tonight at seven. You're all invited!"

"I-I'll be there if we can finish up here by then," Ginny said, "and I'll want to talk to you about, er, about the hearing, in private."

"We'll all try to get there, Harry dear, but right now we've got to get back to work. Congratulations!" said Molly.

"See you Harry!" said Ron.

"I love you," said Ginny, earning a look of concern from her mother and a glare from her brother.

Harry blushed at that statement, but knew he'd regret it if he didn't answer in kind, so despite the fact that Mrs. Weasley was in the room, Harry said, "I love you, Ginny," and vanished quickly out of the fireplace.

Molly looked at her daughter appraisingly. "You-you've been dating Harry for a long time now, haven't you?"

Ginny smiled. "One and a half happy years."

"We, er, we should talk about, er, boys soon."

At that moment, Ron snorted, earning a death glare from both Molly and Ginny. Ron quickly muttered, "Sorry."

"Are you quite done making that racket yet?" shouted Percy from upstairs.

"SHUT UP WEATHERBY!" shouted Ginny, "If you want quiet, go back to work! This is a house!"

"What's bothering you, Ginevra?" said Percy condescendingly.

"YOU!"

"Now children," said Molly, only to be interrupted by Percy.

"Now mother, I can handle this. I'll find out why my baby sister is upset with me. I probably stepped on a stuffed animal."

"You're the only Weasley who didn't come to my defense at the Yule Ball! I don't need anyone to defend me, but it was nice to see Ron, Fred, and George joining Harry when that git tried to…"

Molly had a look of shock in her face but said nothing.

"I was embarrassed by the way you made a public spectacle of yourself and that boy. Slapping him and shouting like that. It was completely inappropriate. You should have dealt with him more discretely! I was further embarrassed when our brothers walked toward him looking ready to kill. I expected it of your boyfriend. He does tend to be a bit of a hot-he…ouch!"

At that moment, Ginny slapped Percy even harder than she'd slapped Corner. "That git Michael wouldn't take no for an answer! BUT YOU'D KNOW THAT IF YOU'D CARED ENOUGH TO EVEN SEE IF I WAS ALRIGHT!"

Without even bothering to answer, Percy turned around and retreated to his bedroom as Molly asked, "What happened at the Yule Ball?" Once Ginny and Ron had explained what had happened, Molly said angrily, "We should call Percy down again so I can slap him!"

-

Please review. Thanks to my loyal readers and reviewers.


	32. Chapter 32 The Party

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 31 – The Party**

"Ginny, dear," said Molly as they had their discussion about boys in Ginny's bedroom, "No matter what Percy said, the way you handled Michael was right, especially the fact that it was public. Now every girl at the dance will know that he is not to be trusted. If Harry ever gets like that…"

"Harry never will!" said Ginny adamantly.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do something like that," said Molly, "but if you ever feel that he's pushing you to do something you don't want to do, I want you to do the same thing to him."

Ginny shook her head, "He's not going to do that, mum. His problem is low self esteem because of the people Dumbledore made him stay with. He doesn't feel worthy of my liking him at all. He'll never get the idea that he deserves more affection than I give him. Quite the opposite, really. Besides, all he seems to worry about is whether I'm happy, not himself. He'd probably hex himself on the spot if he ever lost control for a moment and tried to force me to do anything." She took a deep breath. "You may not want to believe it, but he loves me. He's not interested in using me. He just wants to give me a reason to smile every day."

Molly sighed. She felt they were way too young to know what love was, but also knew there'd be no point in trying to tell Ginny that. "I'm glad you're happy, and that Harry treats you properly, but sometimes a young happy couple like you can get caught up in the moment and do things they'll later regret. Now I wanted to talk about what goes on inside both boys and girls at this time in your life. You see, boys…" She gave a long lecture that talked about hormones, choices, responsibility, sex (don't do it until you're ready to handle a baby), pregnancy (prevention), and basically everything that she could think of. It made Ginny uncomfortable and embarrassed, but not as much she would've expected. She also felt happy. Ginny decided that the point of this 'talk' was so that she'd never feel comfortable around a boy again.

-

Several miles away, Harry was happily getting the house ready for the party when he suddenly felt embarrassed for no apparent reason. He tried to figure it out, but the only thing he could think of was that it had something to do with Ginny. He shrugged it off as nothing and continued his work.

-

When Mrs. Weasley was done talking about that, she asked Ginny, "Now, what can you tell me about what happened during Harry's hearing?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It's never happened before. I just…felt his emotions. His anger first. It must have been when Malfoy showed up. He said he calmed down. Maybe by transferring his anger to me. Then I felt his joy over the ruling. I need to talk to him about it."

"Do you know how he feels now?"

Ginny closed her eyes and concentrated. She smiled broadly. "I think he's…happy…not as excited as the moment the ruling was given, but happy nonetheless."

-

It was five minutes to seven, and Harry was just finishing up in the kitchen. He'd decided to put his experience with the Dursleys to good use for the party celebrating his official separation from them. He baked a few frozen pizzas, as well as several cupcakes. He also provided snacks such as crisps and drinks such as butterbeer. He heard the fire change and walked out of the kitchen to see who had flooed in first.

"Hello Harry!" said Ginny as she dusted herself off before running up to kiss him.

"Hello Ginny! I missed you!"

"I missed you more," said Ginny with a smirk. "We need to talk privately before I leave."

Harry couldn't respond to this because George just stepped out of the fireplace, and Padfoot walked into the living room.

Within minutes, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was filled with all the Weasleys in the country except for Percy, as well as Hermione, Lupin, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

When the pizza was served, Albus said, "I haven't had pizza for twenty years, and it's entirely my fault. Tomorrow I shall instruct the house elves to include pizza as part of the meals that Hogwarts offers."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," said Harry as he wolfed down a slice. Ron had a plate with six slices on it, much to Hermione's annoyance.

Most of the evening was spent talking about James and Lily Potter, and how happy they'd be to know that Sirius finally had custody of Harry. Several people had brought gifts for Harry and Sirius. The twins gave a package of diapers with a note saying, 'To Sirius for Harry as needed.' Mrs. Weasley didn't appreciate the gag-gift, and berated the twins for it. After the gifts had been opened by him and his guardian (Harry liked that thought), Harry finally got to sneak away with Ginny into another room.

Harry grinned at her. "You do know that everyone will think we snuck off to snog, don't you?"

She giggled merrily. "That's usually true anyway. I guess you want to know what I wanted to talk about."

"Yes, Ginny." Her face took on a nervous expression. "What's wrong, love?"

"Nothing. It's just…I…During the hearing, I think I started feeling your emotions when Mr. Malfoy walked into the courtroom. I was washing a plate when this rage hit me and I dropped the plate on the floor. I was in a rage that I somehow knew was related to you until it turned into joy."

Harry looked at her for a few seconds. "For a moment, when I saw Malfoy step into the room, I was ready to stand up and start screaming at him, maybe even hex him. Then suddenly I was calmer. I was still angry, but I had control of my temper."

Her eyes widened. "Do-Do you think I somehow, er, calmed you when I got mad?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense. I didn't know how I'd calmed down enough to realize that I'd only ruin the hearing if I lost my temper, but I was glad I did."

Ginny looked confused. "Glad I could…er, help, but what do you think happened?"

"I…I don't know. Do you think it has something to do with out bond?"

"I know Hermione has mentioned our bond a few times. I think she was going to research it."

"Maybe we should ask her about it," suggested Harry.

Ginny looked deep in thought for a few moments before taking a deep breath. "I suppose we can tell her, but I'd like to keep it generally a secret. Mum knows, and that's it. I think this should be private."

Harry took her hands in his and held them to his chest as he gazed into her eyes. "Whatever you want, Ginny. Stay here. I'll go get her."

Harry left Ginny and found Hermione talking to Ron. He walked up to them and said, "Hi Hermione. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" He then turned to Ron. "I hope you don't mind. It's kind of important."

Hermione looked curiously at him. "Sure Harry. I'll be back later, Ron."

"Fine," Ron said sulkily as Harry and Hermione walked away. He watched as they went into the hallway and followed from a distance. He was surprised to see them enter a bedroom.

-

Hermione stepped into the room and immediately saw, "Ginny? I didn't know you were here."

"We wanted to talk to you about something we want kept secret," said Ginny.

"We would really appreciate your help figuring this thing out," said Harry earnestly.

Hermione looked at her friends. "Of course. You know I'll help in any way I can."

They proceeded to explain how they were beginning to feel the other's emotions, and even realized that they were still doing it. Harry mentioned how he'd felt embarrassed earlier that day and Ginny said what she and her mother had discussed. Hermione soon asked, "So Harry, you were still angry at the hearing, but not as angry as before?"

"That's right."

"And Ginny, you had no reason to be angry, so you were totally calm before you felt Harry's anger?"

"Yes."

"It sounds like you're sharing each other's feelings," Hermione said excitedly. "You basically split Harry's anger between you so that it could be better controlled. That's…wow! So romantic…I've never heard…I wonder if it's your bond?"

"Yes," said Harry, "We were thinking that it might be related to our bond, and were hoping you could help us research it."

"I'd be glad to help," said Hermione happily. "Once we get back to school I'll check the library. What we need might be in the restricted section. What then?"

"Then I guess you'll need to tell me what book to order from Flourish and Blotts."

-

Hermione left the room first with a big smile on her face, followed by Harry. Ron was at the end of the hall watching. He shouted, "So Harry, what did you have to 'talk about' in a bedroom with my girlfriend for a half hour? Where's your girlfriend Ginny, by the way?"

"I'm right here, Ronald!" shouted Ginny as she exited the room. Ron paled upon seeing her. She then got an evil expression on her face. "We wanted to know how to brew the anti-pregnancy potion!"

Ron said shakily, "You, you're not really…y'know…don't need that?"

Ginny glared at Ron. "No we don't, but it's none of your business what we were talking to Hermione about."

"That, that's fine. I just thought that Hermione and Harry were, y'know, alone in there and was watching out for you."

"You mean you don't trust me or Harry, so you were jealous!" shouted Hermione.

Ron's face now matched his hair. "I, er, well it's because..." He sighed, realizing he had no excuse. He put his head down. "I, I'm sorry, alright. I was jealous. I should've trusted you both."

"Wow," said Ginny, "An actual apology. Maybe there is hope for Ron, after all."

-

They decided to accept Ron's apologies, and the rest of the Christmas break went by quickly. Before they knew it, they were back at Hogwarts for what would prove a very interesting term.

-

Please review. Thank to all who have.


	33. Chapter 33 Wild Things

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 32 – Wild Things**

As Harry lay down in his four-poster bed the night they returned to Hogwarts, he thought about everything that had happened over those few weeks. First, there was the ball where Michael Corner sealed his fate. He smiled as he thought about the plan they'd come up with to deal with his crime. He, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione (who'd insisted on 'defending womanhood'), and Ginny still had a few details to work out, but if Michael had any brains he wouldn't have come back to Hogwarts after the stunt he'd pulled.

Next was the fact that Sirius Black had been awarded custody. Harry would never have to see the Dursleys again! Next, there was the emotional connection he now had with Ginny. Closing his eyes, he concentrated for a moment before feeling that she was content like he was. They found that they now would be in the same general mood, especially if one of them was feeling a strong emotion. Hermione had suggested that they never fight. If they had a disagreement, they'd need to separate and calm down and discuss it. They'd of course experimented with snogging, 'For the cause; as research into the way our shared emotions react to that particular stimulus,' Ginny had explained to a rather skeptical Hermione. And finally, he and Ginny had been able to perform their animagus meditations yesterday, to very unusual results.

-

Ginny arrived in the fireplace of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place with a look that reflected the nervous excitement that Harry could feel emanating from her. Neither of them had realized how much their feelings were amplified by their bond when they were feeling the same thing until this moment. They naturally kissed when she'd gotten the soot off of herself.

Sirius broke them up by clearing his throat. "As worthy of a pursuit as that is," he said with a grin, "That's not why we're here. That's why they have broom cupboards at Hogwarts." The young couple chuckled. "We're here to find out just what kind of party animals you really are."

"Very funny," said Harry.

"Now, before you do the meditation, you need to find some place comfortable to relax."

"Can't we just do it on the couch?" asked Ginny.

"I'm afraid not," said Sirius, "You'll probably fall to the floor. You'll have to be laying down somewhere. Probably in a couple beds."

"None of the rooms have two beds, but I'd like to be in the same room," said Harry. "I'll lie down on the floor in whatever room Ginny picks."

"That's ridiculous," said Ginny, "Why can't we be in the same bed? It's not like we'll be able to do anything anyway."

Sirius seemed unsure. "Well, I suppose you can't if you're in your animagus meditation. Besides, I'll be in the room with you."

"Good, then let's go to Harry's bedroom."

Without a word, Harry, Sirius, and Ginny walked up the stairs to the appropriate room, which Harry had decorated during the break. The walls were white and the carpet was dark green. His Firebolt was (temporarily) hanging on the wall opposite the bed, along with a few pictures from Gryffindor Quidditch (some of the team, and some taken during games). On another wall, he had a fairly large wizard photo of Harry and Ginny that was taken the night of the Yule Ball in the center. The same wall also had various pictures of Harry and his friends, including one of Ron and Hermione at the ball. Another wall had a picture of himself facing the horntail as the centerpiece, and the fourth wall had pictures of the Marauders and Lily. James and Lily's wedding photo was the centerpiece. All the photos were waving at them as they entered the room. Sirius sat on a desk chair while Harry and Ginny climbed onto opposite sides of Harry's bed. They each felt a bit nervous and glanced at each other. Harry shot Ginny a small smile, and they joined hands.

Sirius said, "Well, you both have read what to do. Do you have any questions?" When they both answered negatively, Sirius said, "Close your eyes and see your true beast within."

Within a few minutes, after using the technique they'd read about, which included a breathing exercise, Harry found himself in pitch blackness and total quiet. He stood still for about a minute until he was startled by a howl. He turned around to see a circle of light, as though shone from a spotlight, shining on a black, vicious-looking wolf. It had a white scar in the shape of a lightning-bolt in the center of its forehead. The bolt ended exactly between its two green eyes. Harry smiled. "So I'm a wolf." He walked up to the creature and started petting it.

He was interrupted by the sound of loud flapping wings that was strangely familiar to him. He turned and saw a horrifying sight. He saw what appeared to be a headless Hungarian Horntail dragon in another spotlight. The wings were flapping and the tail was moving around randomly. The tail was about to hit him head on when he woke up from his trance.

He found himself still lying flat on his back holding Ginny's hand. He was sweating profusely. He turned his head and saw Ginny was still in a trance, although she was also sweating. He then lifted up his head to see that Sirius was still on the chair, sound asleep. Ginny then screamed and sat up quickly in the bed, pulling Harry, who was still holding her hand, with her. Even if he weren't able to feel her emotions, Harry would have been able to see that she was frightened. She was breathing very heavily, her face was red, and she was squeezing Harry's hand very tightly. "What happened?" Harry asked.

"I…I saw…it's…"

"Calm down, Ginny," Harry said soothingly, "Relax, breathe deeply, and if it's not too much trouble, could you loosen your grip on my hand?" Sirius, who'd been awakened by her scream, chuckled at that.

"I…I'm sorry Harry," she said as she loosened her grip. Harry could feel the circulation begin again in that hand. Harry then took her hand to his lips and kissed it, showing her he wasn't mad.

"It's all right, Ginny," said Sirius, "Whatever you saw. We're not going to judge you, but please tell us." By now Sirius had gotten out of the chair and was standing next to her.

Ginny felt Harry take most of her fear, replacing it with calm. "At first," she said a bit shakily, "I saw a cheetah. Its fur was more reddish than usual, but I guess that's from my hair. It had brown eyes. I'd started petting it when I heard a roar. I turned and saw…I saw the head of a…a dragon. It looked a lot like the horntail Harry fought, but its eyes, they were open, and one was green and the other brown. It breathed fire at me…just before I woke up."

Harry was mentally building a dragon from the pieces in their visions while Sirius looked confused. "I…I've never heard of a partial animal before. A dragon is a magical creature. If you could become a whole one, that would be incredible, but as it is, we'll try to concentrate on a cheetah."

"I'm the rest of the dragon," said Harry calmly, earning looks from both of them. "I saw a wolf, and then the body of a horntail. It swung its tail at me just as I woke up."

Sirius was staring at the two of them, shaking his head, "That…that's impossible. Two people, however much they like or even love each other, can't share a form."

"The bond," mumbled Ginny, looking at Harry.

"The what?" asked Sirius.

Harry looked at Ginny, who nodded. "Sirius, we have some type of bond, that we guess has something to do with when I saved her in the Chamber of Secrets. Anyway, on the day of the custody hearing we, well, started sharing and feeling each other's emotions.   
This has to be part of it, too. We asked Hermione to help us research this. She and Ginny's mum are the only ones who know about it, and um, we'd like to keep it just between us."

Sirius' eyes were very wide right now and his jaw was opened. "Sirius?" said Ginny with a smirk, calling him to attention.

"That…that is amazing guys. Really. I guess that's it then. Maybe you can only become a dragon when you're holding hands like you are now. And Harry, it looks like Ginny will be the head of the dragon, so she'll most likely be controlling it."

Ginny smiled but added, "But it looks like we'll have to work together if he's the body of the dragon. I doubt it'll be like Harry's being controlled. We'll have to be working in agreement."

"As one," added Harry with a slight blush.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Well, I'd suggest you both learn to become your individual forms of the wolf and cheetah first. That I can help you with. I'm not entirely sure how to learn the dragon. Maybe after you've individually done it you'll be able to figure it out." He sighed. "I don't think you'll want McGonagall's help if you don't want to register your forms."

-

Harry, while lying in his four-poster bed at Hogwarts, smiled at the thought of joining with Ginny to form a dragon. He knew it would take several months before they could even begin attempting that if they were going to learn to transform into their individual forms, but he had high hopes of becoming a dragon before the summer was over. He knew that both he and his girlfriend would be working hard to learn as fast as they could. He then chuckled to himself as he contemplated whether or not to tell Hermione about this latest development. He figured that if they told her about it, she, and no doubt Ron, would want to learn to transform as well. He and Ginny hadn't discussed telling Hermione about this latest development yet. He closed his eyes and decided to try getting some sleep.

-

Please review. Thanks to all of you who have.


	34. The Bond Explained

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 34 – The Bond Explained**

The next morning, Harry was eating breakfast in the Great Hall with Ginny, Hermione, and Ron when Draco Malfoy strutted up to the table with Crappe and Boil (I mean Crabbe and Goyle – my mistake). "Hey Potter!" he said with contempt, "It's too bad my father didn't get custody of you. You see, we wanted you to replace Dobby. But then again, it's probably for the best. The smell from a half blood like you, not to mention the blood traitors and mudblood you rub shoulders with, would probably ruin Malfoy Manor!"

"What ruins the smell of Malfoy Manor is the filthy Death Eaters that live there!" said Harry contemptuously. He was really getting sick of that bigot idiot.

Draco's ears turned pink. "You can't call my family…"

Hermione grinned evilly. She shouted, "Get out of here, you FILTHY DEATH NIBBLER!"

Draco's face went red. "I don't have to listen to you, you…"

"Then why'd you come to our table? You filthy Death Nibbler!" said Ginny with a level of contempt that matched Draco's when he called someone a mudblood.

Draco, now turning a shade of purple, glared at them. Harry said in a very Hermione-ish way, "That's probably rude of us. Would you prefer the term, 'Filthy Voldyblood' instead?"

"Look Scarhead! I…"

"Get of here, you filthy Death Nibbler!" said Ron, smiling as he joined in.

"My father will here about this!" said Draco as he turned around to walk away.

"Have him say hi to his half-blood master for me, you filthy Voldyblood!" said Harry as Draco stormed off. All four of them, as well as everyone who was sitting nearby, burst out laughing.

"Is that true," asked Dean Thomas, who was sitting a few people to the right of Harry, about You-Know-Who being a half-blood?"

"Yes. He's the son of a muggle man and a witch," said Harry, "and Voldemort's actual name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He made up the other one out of the letters in his real name because he thought it sounded cool."

-

As the weeks passed, more and more Gryffindors started calling select Slytherins (any who they'd heard use the word 'mudblood') either 'Filthy Voldyblood' or 'Filthy Death Nibbler' (depending on how afraid they were of Riddle's acronym). A few of them started using the term 'Snakeblood,' which became the most popular. Occasionally teachers heard them and deducted points. Soon some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs started using those terms as well. Hermione, in the meantime, was spending most of her time in the library until she told Harry she couldn't find a book on bonds there. He gave her money and had her order a few from Flourish and Blotts. Harry and Ginny had decided not to tell Hermione about their shared animagus form (or that they were working on becoming animagi at all).

By the beginning of February, the preparation for revenge on Michael Corner was complete, and Hermione told Harry and Ginny that she wanted to talk to them about their bond in the afternoon of the same day of the morning prank on Corner. What they'd decided on wasn't that complex, but it took a month to prepare the potions.

It was a Saturday morning, and everyone was having breakfast. Harry had gotten Dobby to add two different potions to different portions of Michael Corner's breakfast (one in his drink, the other in the syrup he used on his pancakes). Ginny was in the middle of taking a bite of her breakfast when they heard the bang. She quickly swallowed her food and started watching as the laughter started rising from the Ravenclaw table.

Michael stood up with a dazed expression in his face. He was wearing bright red gloss lipstick, along with blush on his cheeks and eye shadow. He turned his spaced-out gaze toward the Slytherin table until it rested on none other than Viktor Krum, and he started to bat his eyebrows at the Quidditch star. With a stupid grin on his face, he started marching toward the Durmstrang champion, singing,

"Viktor I love you

Viktor I do

When we're apart

My heart beats only for you."

When he finally reached the disgusted-looking Krum, Michael grabbed his head and kissed him deeply as Viktor struggled against him. By the time Krum had pushed Corner away and was ready to hit him, Professor Flitwick had arrived at the scene and started trying to pull his student away as he struggled, screaming, "I need to be near Viky! I love him! I…"

At that moment, Hagrid grabbed a hold on him, saying, "I think after yer've been ta the hospital wing, yer won' be feelin' the same way," as he carried him out of the Great Hall. As soon as they left, the whole hall, except for Viktor (who was scowling in disgust and rage) and some of the staff, erupted with laughter. Harry even noticed the slightest hint of a smile on Dumbledore's face, which caused McGonagall to glare at the headmaster.

-

After breakfast, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry met in the one-eyed witch passage (where they could have privacy to talk) without letting Ron know they were together. Harry and Ginny had left holding hands, giving anybody the distinct impression that they were headed toward a broom cupboard to trade tonsils. About fifteen minutes later, Hermione told Ron she would be studying ancient runes in the library.

While Ginny had her wand illuminating the room, Hermione summarized what she'd discovered in a book. She had notes with her that she'd occasionally glance at.

"It's called the 'Life-Love Bond,' and it's very rare. The author only found ten couples with any phase of it. It requires a lot of different circumstances, but it sounds the most like your situation. It takes place in three phases. The first phase involves one of the people saving the other's life."

"Like how Harry saved me in the chamber," stated Ginny.

"Exactly," said Hermione as she nodded. "The circumstances require first that the victim was already attracted to the hero." Harry obviously didn't like the terminology, but said nothing. "And then, after the hero has saved the victim from certain death by risking his or her own life, he or sh…"

"We know it's a he, and his name is Harry," interrupted Ginny with a smirk.

"Very well. After saving Ginny, Harry comforted her, even hugging her, and began to develop genuine feelings of love. At that point the bond started taking over slowly. What it did is accelerate the speed at which you grew closer. First, Harry was thinking about you more and more, feeling genuinely concerned to the point that he spoke to you about how you were doing after your experience. Ginny, if I'm not mistaken, your feelings for Harry were growing as well."

Ginny blushed. "After two days of talking to Harry, I asked him to be my boyfriend. I always wondered how I had the guts to do that."

"Really?" said Hermione, genuinely surprised. "You never did describe exactly how…never mind. Anyway, if you don't mind my saying so, you were more…er…affectionate than most new couples your ages who had just had their first kiss."

Both Harry and Ginny were blushing as Hermione's ears went pink. The brunette continued, "That's because of your bond. It says that both people will feel a closeness in phase one that makes them kiss rather, er, affectionately from day one." Hermione was getting nervous. "When you kiss, you…er…are more…well…needy or hungry about it, like you can't get enough of each other."

Both Ginny and Harry blushed yet again and reluctantly nodded.

"The bond doesn't seem to even care about age, although the youngest case they found involved two ten-year-olds. Most theorize that if the victim is old enough to have a crush on the hero, the bond can work. Anyway, as much as you enjoy kissing and snogging each other, you're absolutely revolted if someone else kisses you on the lips, no matter who it is."

"I know that's right!" said Ginny, thinking of Corner.

"Absolutely," said Harry, thinking of Cho.

"This pretty much insures that you won't cheat on each other," said Hermione. "Another affect is that you could barely function if you were having a fight. I remember when Ginny saw Cho kiss Harry."

"We sorted that out long ago," said Ginny emphatically, "I was stupid! I should've trusted him."

"My point is that Harry was completely and utterly depressed that day while you were completely and utterly angry." She looked at her friends. "You were both completely ruled by your emotions and couldn't really concentrate on anything else for long. According to the book, you wouldn't have been able to sleep, and within twenty-four hours, you'd have both been getting physically ill if you didn't reconcile."

"I know I never wanted to fight again," said Harry, squeezing Ginny's hand that he just realized he'd been holding.

"That's everything from phase one. Phase two, which is what it sounds like started over break, begins when both people have openly expressed a desire to be together for the rest of their lives to someone besides their partner."

Harry repeated, "Openly?" with a confused look.

Hermione looked at him and sighed exasperatedly, "Harry, don't you remember when we were dancing at the Yule Ball?"

"Of course I do, but…oh," he said with a small grin.

Hermione smiled back at her best friend. "Oh. You told me that you wanted to spend your life with Ginny, and a few days later, you reached phase two." She then turned to Ginny. "Have you made any similar declarations lately?"

Harry watched her as her ears went pink. He was surprised to see that she was angry, not happy or embarrassed. "Well, when I was dancing with Colin, he basically told me that the other girls wanted me to break up with Harry so they can have a go at him."

"What?" exclaimed both Harry and Hermione at the same time.

"I know! How ignorant can you get? Anyway, I told him we were in love and if I had anything to say about it we'd be together for the rest of our lives!"

"That sounds like a declaration to me," said Hermione. "Anyway, in phase two, over the course of a few days, you start sharing emotions. Another thing is that when you're physically touching, you can share your magic. The book said that usually this is as far as a couple gets, and that when one is angry and the other calm, they can share the emotion, so that the one who has been angered can handle the situation without losing his or her temper. You should even be able to share pain. The book also says that if you're both experiencing the same emotion, it's enhanced, like we realized."

"So we really don't want to argue. It would end up being worse that fighting with mum, and we'd be sick if we didn't reconcile anyway," said Ginny.

"Yes," said Hermione, and then she started to blush. "It also says that…er…loving emotions are also enhanced. Your snogging experiments actually weren't that unreasonable."

"You see," said Harry with a smirk, "It was just for research, and I think we'll continue that study when this conversation is over."

"Right you are, Mr. Potter," said Ginny.

"Anyway," said Hermione, "It said that anything you do to…intensify those feelings, such as kissing, snogging, er…"

"Shagging?" suggested Ginny with a straight face.

"Er, well, when the time comes, yes," said Hermione, her face redder than Ginny's hair, "Anything you do will be more…er…intense than anyone without your bond can…er…experience."

There was silence for a few minutes, as they all felt embarrassed. Harry finally broke the silence. "You mentioned a phase three?"

"Oh, um, yes. According to the book, if a couple in phase two works really hard, they can somehow merge their minds and spirits while they share their magic. The author only found one couple that had reached that phase, and they were killed less than a year after they'd done it, so the author doesn't know what happens after that."

Both Harry and Ginny avoided looking at each other, but they were both thinking about their dragon form. Harry finally spoke. "Thank you very much for all your help, Hermione. You've given us a lot to think about. I can feel that Ginny's head is spinning as much as mine. Do you think we can have a few copies of your notes? Both Mrs. Weasley and Sirius are gonna want to see them, and I'd like a copy myself."

"Make another copy for me, please," added Ginny.

"Sure," said Hermione as she pulled her wand out, "No problem." She then duplicated her notes four times.

-

After Harry and Ginny walked hand-in-hand in silent companionship to the owlry and sent off their letters, they sat down and faced each other. "Wow," Ginny said to break the silence.

Harry grinned. "Wow is right. That really was…illuminating."

"I know."

"I think we'll need to let that information soak in more before we can talk about it. My head is still spinning."

"I agree. Maybe we'll talk about this after you've done the second task. For now, I think the best thing to do is continue our experiment in snogging."

Harry grinned at his girlfriend. "Sounds like a plan to me."

-

Please review. Thanks to those who already have.

The prank on Corner involved a love potion and a glamour potion designed for underage witches so that they can take a potion instead of perform a charm.


	35. In Too Deep

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 35 – In Too Deep**

Molly was sitting on the sofa at the Burrow relaxing, listening to the Wireless Wizarding Network, after a full day of…doing hardly anything. With only Arthur and Percy, both of which spent most of their time at work, living there, the house stayed pretty clean. She had just started dinner, and was waiting for the men to arrive home.

She heard a tapping at her window, interrupting the song she was listening to. She looked to see a magnificent snowy owl and smiled. She'd always liked Hedwig. She opened the window and Hedwig walked inside with two envelopes tied to her leg. She held out her foot and hooted. Molly looked at the envelopes and saw that one was addressed to her and the other to Sirius Black. She untied the appropriate letter, and Hedwig flew to Errol's perch and drank some water out of the dish. Molly gave Hedwig an owl treat and she flew off.

The Weasley matriarch opened the envelope, and found two scrolls of parchment rolled up inside. The smaller one said, 'Read this first,' on the outside. She unrolled it and held it in front of her.

"_Dear Mum,_

_Harry and I had Hermione research our bond for us. The other scroll is her notes on it. It's called the Life-Love bond and we've just entered Phase two. It started when Harry rescued me in the chamber and has grown since then. We are pretty much stuck with each other for life, and couldn't be happier. Some of the symptoms are that if we did break up, we'd be physically ill within a day. We also can't stand kissing anyone else so we couldn't cheat on each other if we wanted. We do share emotions as we discovered. Harry could never deceive me even if he wanted to, and I'm very happy, and I love him. We hope you'll be happy for us, and not worried._

_We both love you._

_Ginny and Harry_"

Molly gasped as she read this. Her daughter was in a life bond with Harry, and could never even have a choice in the matter! She quickly unrolled the other scroll and began to read Hermione's notes.

-

About an hour later, Arthur's hand on the family clock moved from work to traveling to home. Percy had already come home and walked straight up to his room carrying a briefcase full of parchments without so much as a word to his mother, but this particular day, Mrs. Weasley barely noticed.

"Good evening, Molly!" said Arthur jovially as he opened the door. "I'm sorry I had to work so late. Problems with pranksters charming muggle feletones."

"Arthur, I think you need to read this letter from Ginny," said Molly without emotion. "We discovered that she's magically bonded with Harry over Christmas break, and now they know what type of bond it is."

-

As Arthur read through the parchments, Molly put dinner on the table and called Percy downstairs for dinner. Their son didn't seem to notice the worried looks on his parents' faces as he quickly ate his dinner and went back upstairs. Neither Molly nor Arthur had much of an appetite that night.

"So," said Arthur, trying to lighten the mood, "I guess you can start planning the wedding for…I suppose three and a half years from now. Ginny should be graduating then."

"This isn't funny."

"That's not exactly a joke. I know this is…unusual, but we should look on the bright side. At least we know the boy. We also know that Ginny won't ever date the wrong sort of blokes. We further know that Harry couldn't break our girl's heart if he wanted to. So I certainly think we can assume that they will get married."

"But with their…closeness…what if they…"

"Now Molly," he said, putting his hands on hers to try calming his wife, "I'm sure that they…"

"But you read about how their…FEELINGS…are enhanced. I know they're good kids, but they could get carried away with those feelings! We already know they kiss too much…"

"I doubt they'd agree with that," said Arthur with a grin, "According to those notes, they probably don't think they kiss enough."

"THIS IS NO LAUGHING MATTER! I WILL NOT HAVE MY ONLY DAUGHTER BECOME A…SCARLET WOMAN…JUST BECAUSE OF HER BOND!"

"Harry loves her and would never try to take advantage…"

"I'm more worried about Ginny! Harry's normally shy about his feelings, but the boy is only human. When he feels her…emotions, it might be too much for him to resist."

-

While the Weasley parents were arguing about the bond, Sirius Black was finishing reading his copy of those notes with his eyes wide and an unsure expression on his face. On the one hand, he thought the bond with Ginny was awesome, and the marauder in him would want Harry to go 'all the way' with it to experience all the joy that the bond promised. He knew that's probably what he'd have done, no matter how young he was. On the other hand, he was trying to be the 'responsible parent' that James and Lily trusted him to be. He already knew that it was about time Harry and he had a certain talk, and now it seemed like he'd better have it as soon as possible before Harry and Ginny did something they might regret in the exploration of their bond. He was surprised when the fireplace activated, revealing Mr. Weasley's head.

"Hello Sirius," he said nervously.

"Hi Arthur."

"My wife says that you got a package from Harry today like the one we got from Ginny."

Sirius sighed. "About the bond?" Arthur nodded. "Yeah. I just got done reading it."

"Molly and I were, er, wondering if you'd like to discuss it with us."

Padfoot shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that's what 'responsible' parents would do."

"So do you mind if we come over there? We don't want Percy to overhear it."

"Sure. Come on over."

-

That Saturday, Harry and the Weasley kids were surprised when Sirius, Arthur, and Molly walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. They walked directly to the Gryffindor table where Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were sitting and greeted them. After they sat down, the twins picked up their plates and moved to sit by their parents.

"Just sit by Ronnykins and Gin-Gin…"

"And ignore Gred and Forge."

"It makes us feel loved."

"I'm sorry boys," said Molly, embracing them each. "We're happy to see you…especially since you're not in trouble."

"The day is young," said George conspiratorially.

"Too true, my twin."

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione knew exactly why the parents were here. It was obvious with the glances they were giving Harry and Ginny. Ron was so busy eating that he barely knew his parents were there. When they were done eating, Sirius said, "Harry, can we take a walk around the castle? I'd like to take a look at the portraits."

Harry simply nodded, knowing full well that Sirius wasn't interested in seeing the portraits. Once they were away from everyone, Sirius ducked into an empty classroom. Once Harry followed, Sirius shut the door, and charmed it and the windows for privacy.

"So," said Sirius.

"So…what?" said Harry with a grin.

Padfoot grinned back. "That's really something about your bond with Ginny."

Harry knew it was about this. "Yeah. Isn't it wonderful?" he said cheerfully. If Sirius were against it, he'd have to say so himself. Harry wanted to make it clear that he was happy.

Sirius nodded half-heartedly. "Yeah, Ginny's a great girl. If you're gonna bond with someone, that's the girl."

"Exactly. I really love her and I know she loves me." Harry blushed slightly at this statement, but felt he had to say it.

"Yeah, I know. I guess you're pretty…comfortable in your…relationship?"

"Er, yes. I'm comfortable with Ginny, if that's what you mean."

"I mean with…snogging, and that," said Sirius as his ears turned pink.

"Snogging? Yes that's brilliant! Even better since we started phase two. I don't know what you mean by, 'and that,' so I can't answer you." Harry was blushing madly, but managed to answer the question.

Black decided to bite the bullet. "I'd imagine that the Dursleys never…er…gave you the talk about girls."

"First that none would ever like me, and then after I started dating Ginny they said she couldn't visit me. That's pretty much the extent of what they've told me."

Padfoot shifted uncomfortably. "Well you see, girls are…"

"Fun to snog?" asked Harry, who decided to have fun with this.

"No, I meant…"

"So you're saying they're not fun to snog?" Harry chuckled, although he was beginning to feel Ginny's anger toward what he guessed was her mother.

"That's not what I meant. I meant that they…"

-

While Sirius was doing his best to give 'the talk' to his highly amused godson, Ginny was in another classroom yelling at her mum.

"IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT YOU TOLD DAD, BUT NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME TO 'BE CAREFUL' so Harry doesn't take advantage of me or our bond. What do you think Harry is, some kind of rapist?"

"Of course not, darling," said Molly. "I'm just concerned that his being older than you…"

"By one year!"

"By one year, and feeling your emotions, he might want to…"

"He doesn't want to do anything that I don't want to do! If he hurt me, he'd feel it too!" She began to feel Harry's calming influence. "Look mum, why don't you just come out and say it. You don't want Harry and me to shag."

Molly turned red and was going to rebuke her daughter when she realized that was the truth. "Yes. I don't want you two to do that, no matter how close you feel and how sure you are of each other."

"That's fine, because we weren't planning that for a long time."

Molly was happy for a moment, but then she paled. "What do you mean by, 'A long time?'"

"That's for you and dad to worry about," she said with a wicked grin.

-

Soon after, the parents and bondmates joined together for another discussion where the kids were practically forced into an unbreakable vow regarding their affection. Harry was keeping Ginny calm until Mrs. Weasley said how concerned she was that Ginny would become a 'scarlet woman.' At that point, both Ginny and Harry were upset at the same time, and this time it was Harry who lost control.

"MRS. WEASLEY! I AM NOT TRYING TO TURN GINNY INTO A SCARLET WOMAN, AND EVEN IF I WERE, SHE'D NEVER BECOME ONE! DON'T YOU HAVE ANY FAITH AT ALL IN YOUR DAUGHTER! THIS BOND ISN'T SOMETHING WE TRIED TO GET, BUT WE'RE BOTH HAPPY ABOUT IT! THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AT ALL YOU CAN DO ABOUT THIS BOND! THE ONLY CHOICE YOU HAVE IS WHETHER OR NOT WE'LL HAVE TO RUN AWAY TOGETHER ONCE GINNY'S OF AGE AND LEAVE YOUR FAMILY BEHIND!"

"YOU WOULDN'T!"

"THE WAY YOU'RE ACTING RIGHT NOW MOTHER, WE WOULD!" shouted Ginny. "Why can't you just be happy for us?"

Mrs. Weasley took several calming breaths as the red drained from her cheeks. "We are happy. I'm just concerned…"

"I believe you've upset our daughter enough today," said Arthur, who didn't look happy.

"But Arthur…"

"They haven't changed from the people, the good kids that they are just because of their bond. Now they simply can't break up."

-

It took a lot of convincing, but Arthur managed to calm his wife down, and even get her to apologize before they left. After that meeting, time kept going on. Valentine's Day did not pass by unnoticed. This year, Ginny was the one who sent the gifts at each meal with a poem (like what Harry did in chapter 7).

His eyes are as green as a broccoli stalk

His hair is as dark as a Dementor's cloak

So glad he's my bond, even though he's odd

I love this guy and that's no joke.

She sent a bowl of cold broccoli to Harry at breakfast with the first line. At lunch she apologized for not being able to find a Dementor to deliver the next line. Harry said, "That's perfectly fine with me." The dinner gift was a combination of Zonko products and the twin's stuff. Her final gift was a silver watch charmed to be waterproof to any depth. Harry gave Ginny a framed picture of them at the Yule Ball, along with an 'I Kissed Harry Potter' t-shirt. She giggled and slapped his arm when she read that, and called him a dragon's behind. Even he laughed at that statement, unable to deny it. He then touched the shirt with his wand, and it transformed into a dark green dragon leather jacket.

She looked over the jacket, amazed, and then kissed him deeply. "It's perfect!" she declared with a grin.

-

Less than two weeks later, late on the evening before the 2nd task, Harry and Ginny were snogging in the deserted common room. They had just had their first success in their transformations – they both managed to transform a hand into a paw - and had just returned from working on it and were celebrating. Professor McGonagall walked in unnoticed, walked up to them, and said, "Shall I conjure a bucket of water to separate you two?"

They broke up immediately and blushed, unable to meet their head of house's eyes. "Er, that won't be necessary, professor," said Harry.

"Mr. Potter, as you have a busy day tomorrow, I suggest you go upstairs and get some sleep. Miss Weasley, you shall accompany me…"

"If she's in trouble, I should be too!" Harry interrupted firmly.

Minerva smiled for a moment. "That's very admirable, Mr. Potter, but Miss Weasley is not in trouble. I realize that you'll _sorely miss_ her until you meet again."

Harry immediately caught on and looked worried. "She, she won't actually be in danger, will she?"

"Of course not, Mr. Potter. Professor Dumbledore would never deliberately put someone in danger."

"I guess that's ok," said Harry, "But why can't I just go looking for another egg instead of a person?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Potter. By the way, would you mind terribly going to the sixth year boys' dormitory and sending Mr. George Weasley down here?"

-

Even though he'd been assured that the hostages would be safe, Harry had a practically sleepless night. He could sense that she was calm through their bond, but it didn't set his mind at ease. He was at the breakfast table before anybody else, and extremely tense. Five minutes after he arrived, Fred sat down next to him. "Morning, Harry."

He looked over at his competitor. "Hi Fred. You know, there are two Weasleys at the bottom of the lake right now."

"Yeah, and we've got to get them. I know what McGonagall told you, but are you sure you want to trust the merpeople with them?"

"I don't," said Harry. "This is so stupid! Why does it have to be people in the lake?"

"Because they want it to be more exciting, and to give us more incentive."

"So, are you ready?"

Fred grinned, "Absolutely! You?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. He thought he was, but now was nervous. But he wasn't about to make Fred worry about Ginny.

-

Before Harry knew it, it was time to start the task. He'd already transfigured his shoes into flippers after he arrived, impressing Professor McGonagall. Once the whistle blew, Harry performed the bubblehead charm and jumped in the lake. Krum and Fleur also jumped in the lake. Fred put a handful of gillyweed in his mouth and dived in.

-

Harry was swimming quite well with his flippers, and had passed the others immediately. He had practiced a bit, so he knew the general location of the mer-village. He swam a bit too low and felt a grindylow try to grab him, but quickly hexed it. He couldn't help but think about how cold the water was, but he had to ignore it to rescue Ginny. In the few minutes the grindylow slowed him down, Fleur had caught him up and was grabbed by another one. He saw her drop her wand and turned to help. He pointed his wand at the sea monster that had Fleur and hexed it, causing it to release her. Then he said, "Accio, Fleur's wand," and her dropped wand came to him. He swam to Fleur and handed her the wand, and turned around to find Ginny. He didn't hear her thank him.

When he got to the place where the hostages were tied, he saw Fred cutting George loose with a knife. Fred saw Harry and grinned as he handed him the knife. As Harry was cutting Ginny loose, he saw Fred grab George and point his wand at his twin. He laughed as he saw George expand into an inflatable floatation device (almost like a raft) and pull them straight up out of the water. By the time Harry was done cutting Ginny loose, Fleur was next to him, so he loaned her the knife and swam Ginny up to the shore. He didn't see Krum arrive as a half-shark.

-

When he got to the surface, he found that Fred had undone the charm on George, and he appeared normal. Fred however, was still underwater waiting for the gillyweed to wear off. He learned all this after Ginny had kissed him thoroughly as soon as she woke up, causing many catcalls and whistles. While he was drying off, Fleur came to the surface with her little sister, Gabriel, and walked up to Harry. "You helped me even though I waz competing with you! Thank you!" She kissed both Harry's cheeks while Ginny glared at her.

"Come on Ginny," said Harry with a grin, "She was just saying thanks because I hexed a grindylow for her."

"You helped her?" asked Ginny. "Why?"

"I didn't want the grindylows to hurt her," he answered simply. At that moment, Viktor Krum, who was holding the knife that had originally been Fred's, emerged with a guy Harry assumed was his best friend. Harry watched as Fred, now back to normal, reclaimed his knife. In the end, the scores were as follows: 48 points for Fred, who'd returned to the surface first, 45 minutes into the task. Karkaroff only gave him an eight, claiming that it wasn't right for him to use his brother as a raft. 47 points to Harry, who'd come in second-place 50 minutes into the task. 44 points to Fleur, who'd made it back 56 minutes into the task. 40 points to Viktor, who'd made it back 1 minute late. Fred and Harry were tied in the tournament for 1st place, with 89 points each. There would be a party in Gryffindor tower that night!

-

Please review. Thank you to all who have. I had trouble coming up with something original for Fred to do in this task.


	36. Preparing for the Final Task

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 36 – Preparing For the Final Task**

Before they left the area for the party, Ron and Hermione had come up to congratulate Harry on a job well done. They'd already congratulated Fred on Hermione's insistence. She figured they'd spend more time with Harry and Ginny, but that Ron should congratulate his brother on winning first place. "You should've seen when George came floating up to the surface, mate," said Ron to Harry. It was hilarious!"

"It did look rather funny," admitted Hermione with a grin. "I'm just glad I wasn't down there like you Ginny."

"I didn't see anything until I'd already been rescued, and I woke up in the arms of my boyfriend. Believe me, it wasn't so bad."

"But what if Harry hadn't managed to get you?"

"I never had one doubt about that," said Ginny with a grin as she squeezed his hand. "It's not his first time rescuing me." Harry blushed but remained silent.

"Well done Harry-dear!" said Mrs. Weasley from behind Harry. She had been able to come to watch the task. Unfortunately Arthur had to work (but fortunately, so did Percy). He stiffened up but she didn't seem to notice. She'd come to the task and had just finished smothering her twin sons. "Both you and Fred performed admirably! I'm proud of both of you!" She then nearly broke Harry's ribs in a hug.

"Er, thank you, Mrs. Weasley," he said stiffly, doing his best to be polite to the woman who had accused him of wanting to take advantage of Ginny. 'Truthfully,' he thought, 'I would probably not ever speak to her again if she weren't Ginny's mother. She thinks I'm a freak just like the Dursleys.'

"You're welcome, Harry-dear," she said merrily, completely oblivious to Harry's discomfort. "And Ginny? How did they ever talk you into being a hostage for this event?"

"They, er, told me I wouldn't really be in danger."

"But that's not the truth," said Harry thoughtfully. "Maybe the merpeople wouldn't harm the hostages, but you didn't see those Grindylows down there! If they got a hold of a hostage, that person would be completely defenseless in that magical sleep and probably die."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes went wide. "But Professor Dumbledore would never put students in danger. He always keeps Hogwarts safe."

Harry chuckled at that statement, earning a glare from Molly. "He's making me participate in this tournament even though he knows a Death Eater entered me," Harry said slightly angrily. "Since I've been in this school, I've faced a troll, giant spiders, a basilisk, a dragon, Grindylows, Dementors, possessed teachers, bewitched brooms and bludgers, among other things, not to mention Voldemort three times. Once in the Forbidden Forest on a detention, once while protecting the philosopher's stone, and once in the Chamber of Secrets, since I've been here." Mrs. Weasley flinched at the name. "I'm not sure what it is that Dumbledore protects us from. I end up spending time in the hospital wing almost every term!"

"I-I'm sorry that you've had so much trouble here, Harry-dear, but I'm afraid you are the exception. Trouble does seem to follow you…"

Ginny could feel Harry's anger rise up within him, and couldn't do anything to calm him because she was angry too. Harry very coldly said, "If you'll excuse me, I have a party to attend," and stomped off toward the castle fuming.

Ginny, her face redder than her hair, turned on her mother. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! Most of his trouble is just because he's brave enough to help people instead of waiting around for the teachers to show up and save the day! The teachers at Hogwarts usually don't have a clue about how to keep the students safe! I managed to bring Riddle's diary in here and keep it for a year and none of them were able to detect it! The defense teacher who was supposed to find me attacked Harry and Ron instead! This castle is supposed to be so secure, yet Death Eaters can get in here and enter Harry's name in a dangerous tournament and Dumbledore and the ministry make him participate!"

"I-I didn't mean it that way," said Molly. "I just…"

"Harry thinks you did! He's totally convinced you hate him! That you think he's some kind of a pervert out to get me and now a troublemaker too! It's bad enough that the Dursleys have called him a freak enough times! Now you have to do it too!" She then turned away from her mother and ran after Harry, whom she knew wouldn't actually be headed to the party. She didn't pay any attention to her mother calling out after her as she searched for her bondmate. She knew the direction he had been heading, and also knew that he would be passing near their favorite spot where they had first kissed. She decided to check that first.

As she approached the area, she saw him sitting against a tree fuming. She could still feel his anger as she approached. When he saw her, she could feel momentary happiness, but it went right back to anger. She sat down on the ground in front of him.

"I'm not going to try to justify what my mother said. It was totally uncalled for, and I don't agree! I don't really think she meant it." She took a deep breath. "It's just that she's a lot like Ron and speaks without thinking." He raised his eyebrows at her and slightly smiled. "Ok, sometimes I do that too when I'm angry." He continued staring at her. "Ok, I hex first and ask questions later. Maybe it's a family trait. Anyway, she was probably upset that you implied that Dumbledore doesn't keep Hogwarts safe."

He chuckled. "But I'm right. In my first year, Dumbledore hid Voldemort bait in the castle! Then he protected it with a series of traps, starting with a huge three headed dog that anybody who knew the alohamora spell could get caught by. Of course the only reason Ron, Hermione, and I discovered that was because the bloody staircase took us there when we were trying to get to Gryffindor Tower. Why didn't Dumbledore charm the staircases not to go to that floor if he didn't want students there? Anyway, my point is that we can't count of the staff to keep us safe!"

"I know, Harry. It wasn't Professor Dumbledore that rescued me from Tom. It was you."

Harry chuckled. "Good thing too. I just can't picture you bonded with him. I think he's a bit too old for you."

She giggled a bit. "He's not exactly my type anyway. Well, are you ready to go up to the party now?"

He could feel Ginny's concern for him and didn't want to ruin the celebration for everyone by brooding. "I guess so. I hope Fred and George brought enough butterbeer."

"We'd better hurry before it's all gone. Come on." She got up and grabbed his hand, helping him up.

-

The party was one of the best that Gryffindor Tower had ever seen. They did have reason to celebrate. Each of the two Gryffindors individually beat the best that the other schools had to offer twice now, and they were positive that one of those two would win the tournament. McGonagall came up at three in the morning to break up the party.

-

The weeks passed by quickly, and soon Ludo Bagman was showing the champions what used to be the Quidditch pitch.

"What have you done with it!" demanded Fred.

"Don't worry," said Ludo quickly. "You'll have your Quidditch pitch back after the tournament."

He went on to tell them that the last task would be a maze with several obstacles. After Bagman was done explaining it, Fleur and Fred walked away, while Krum said, "Harry, may I haff a vord with you, in private?"

Harry, who remembered Viktor's threat from the Yule Ball, said, "No thank you. I don't think that it would be wise to walk off alone with someone who's threatened me. Goodnight."

Harry began walking away when Viktor called, "I just vanted to apologize vor my behavior." Harry stopped and turned to face him. Viktor's head was facing the ground. I vas just so used to getting my way. I thought vhen I politely asked Hermy-Ninny to the dance, she vould say yes. Vhen she didn't, I got mad. I also thought she vould want to dance vith me at the ball, and got angry vhen I was proven wrong again. I've had time now to consider my behavior, and realize vhat you, Hermy-Ninny and her boyfriend must think of me."

Harry sighed. "You should be apologizing to them, especially Hermione. You treated her like she doesn't even have a choice in who she dances with, like she's a piece of property or something."

"I vill, but do I haff your forgiveness?"

"If she forgives you, so will I."

"Very vell."

-

A few days later, Viktor approached Ron and Hermione while they were taking a walk around the grounds and asked for their forgiveness. Hermione was easier to convince than Ron, who still wished he'd been the one to stand up to Krum at the Yule Ball.

"How do we know you're not just trying to butter up Hermione so you can have a go at her later?"

"I svear I'm not going to interfere vith your relationship. You are a lucky man, Ronald."

Ron put his arm possessively around Hermione. "I know."

-

After finding out about the maze, Harry was practicing hexes and charms and anything else they could think of with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione every chance he got. Finally, the morning of the third task arrived, and while Harry was eating breakfast with them, Professor McGonagall approached.

"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the hall after breakfast."

"But the task's not till tonight!" said Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, afraid he had mistaken the time.

"I'm aware of that, Potter," she said. "The champions' families are invited to spend the day here with them."

Harry brightened up at that news. "Is Sirius here?"

McGonagall said, "Yes," and then walked over to where Fred and George were sitting.

Harry eagerly finished his breakfast, kissed Ginny goodbye, and hurried to the place McGonagall had indicated, arriving first. He saw people he didn't know, that he figured were Fleur and Krum's families, along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He then saw the person he was looking for. "Sirius!" he said happily, running up to give his guardian a hug.

"Harry! I know I already said it, but I'm sorry I couldn't make it for the second task."

"That's alright! I'm just glad you're here now!"

"Harry-dear," said Molly Weasley from behind him.

Harry stiffened and turned. "Hello Mrs. Weasley," he said politely and turned back to Sirius.

Even though she knew Harry was still mad, she was surprised by this reaction. "Harry, I want to apologize for what I said the last time we spoke. I was very out-of-line." Although Harry had turned back to face her, he was showing her no emotion. Molly felt tears start to form in her eyes. "I'm also sorry about how I've been acting since I found out about your bond with Ginny. I never thought those things about you personally. I over-reacted. I was worried about Ginny."

"Ginny was happy. I felt her emotions. I SHARE her emotions. If I hurt her, I'd feel it as though I hurt myself. So I could never hurt her even if I wanted to. Secondly, I have no desire to hurt her or use her or whatever it is you think I want to do to her. I love her and she loves me! Our bond exists and is unbreakable whether you ever accept it or not. We are going to be together for the rest of our lives. As I said before, your only choice is whether or not you're a part of our lives."

"Mum, dad!" called Fred as he walked inside the room, effectively ending that conversation as Molly walked toward her son, embracing him tightly.

-

In the meantime, Ginny could feel Harry's emotional rollercoaster as she took her final exams. She realized quickly that her parents had come to see Fred, and hoped that her mum could patch things up with Harry before the final task that night.

At the same time, a Death Eater was inside the castle with one goal, the capture of Harry Potter.

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have.


	37. Alone

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 37 – Alone**

Ludo Bagman and Amelia Bones were at the staff table during the evening feast. They had come to judge the final event (along with the three headmasters). Professor Slughorn had been sent out to place the Triwizard Cup in the maze in preparation for the final task. Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Sirius were all sitting together at the Gryffindor table. Harry sat just about as far away from Mrs. Weasley as possible, much to her dismay. She knew she had to stop this grudge now before it grew and eventually took her daughter away from her. She knew she couldn't talk about the bond in front of everybody, but everyone knew there was trouble between them.

"Harry," she practically shouted toward him.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," he said politely, although Ginny could tell he wasn't happy.

She took a deep breath and told herself, 'I can do this.' "I'd like to apologize in front of the whole family about the way I've been acting toward you lately. I think I've just been afraid of losing my daughter, but the way I've acted will make that fear come true. I know that you have never mistreated Ginny and that you care for her, and that she cares for you. I also know that I can trust you implicitly not to hurt her. I was being rather foolish and said some stupid things that I didn't mean, and I hurt your feelings in the process. Can you forgive an over-protective mother for behaving like an idiot?"

Harry had watched her eyes during that speech and could see the sincerity. He could even see that Molly was on the verge of tears. He could feel Ginny's happiness and pride that her mother had apologized, and anticipation of Harry's response. He also felt every eye on him. He allowed himself to imagine for a moment how Ginny would react if he didn't forgive Molly after this public apology. He knew that he should forgive her, and in fact he did, but he doubted that he'd ever forget. Deciding that Molly should be rewarded for her effort, not to mention anticipating the snogging session Ginny would probably reward him for it, he got up and walked over to Mrs. Weasley and hugged her, saying. "It's all right. I forgive you." He then whispered in her ear, "Mum."

Molly's eyes went wide at that statement, but then she smiled and hugged him back. At this point, the Weasley matriarch was softly sobbing.

-

Just before the task, Ginny pulled Harry away to a secluded corner of the Great Hall. "That was very nice the way you hugged mum. It meant a lot to her. What did you whisper while you were hugging her?"

Harry blushed and looked down. "I called her 'mum.'"

Ginny's face brightened up at that as her hands reached the back of his head. She pulled his face down toward hers. Just as their lips met, they heard a woman clear her throat behind them. They separated to see Professor McGonagall watching them looking a combination of amused and angry. "I was under the impression that you two frequented broom closets and the Gryffindor common room for that sort of behavior."

Both of them were turning red. "Er," said Harry nervously until he noticed the smile in McGonagall's eyes, "We didn't have time to find an empty closet."

For a split second, Minerva smiled. "Quite right Mr. Potter. It's time for you to be going, so kiss Miss Weasley and we'll be off."

Ginny giggled while Harry took on a serious expression. "Yes, ma'am."

-

After a brief kiss, Harry and McGonagall located Fred and the other champions, and they walked out to prepare for the final task.

-

"…And as Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter are tied for first place, they will begin together when the whistle blows, while Mr. Krum and Miss Delacour will wait for their own times to enter," said Dumbledore as the task began. Before long a whistle blew, so Harry and Fred walked into the maze together.

Within a few seconds of entering the dark maze, both Fred and Harry cast a 'lumos' spell so they could see where they were going. After about fifty yards, they came to a fork. They looked at each other.

"See you," Harry said as he took the right one, while Fred took the left.

-

Although Harry was a bit nervous, he wasn't nearly as nervous as Ginny as she sat in the stands with Hermione, Ron, Sirius, George, and her mum and dad. She was busily fidgeting when she heard Hermione whisper into her ear, "Do you think your nervousness is helping Harry?"

Ginny smiled at her friend and took a few deep, cleansing breaths and concentrated as best she could on happy things.

-

Harry turned a corner and smiled as he saw a creature that could be extremely dangerous if one didn't know how to handle it. He also saw what he suspected was a large patch of quicksand behind this animal. He walked close enough to this gray-feathered, brown-furred hippogriff and bowed. After about thirty seconds, the magical creature bowed back. Harry smiled as he walked up to it. "How are you doing?" he said as he pet it. "Do you mind if I ride you?"

The hippogriff stayed calm as he mounted her, and he got the magnificent creature to fly him over the quicksand. He also noticed a magical barrier preventing him from flying higher than the edges of the maze. He silently blessed Hagrid for his first lesson on magical creatures as he dismounted. After he patted the beast, it flew back to the other side, apparently waiting for the next champion to cross its path.

After doing a 'point me' spell, he determined which way to turn at a fork in the road. He came across something he never expected to see here. A mountain troll.

-

Ginny felt a flash of terror come from Harry, and she immediately went to work calming him down so he could think his way out of whatever he was facing.

-

For half a second, Harry considered sticking his wand up the troll's nose, but decided that wouldn't be a good idea. As the stupid creature approached Harry, waving his club madly, Harry did the only thing he could think of. "Wingardium Leviosa," he said while pointing his wand at the club. Harry actually laughed as the troll looked up to where the club was. When Harry released the club, it fell on the troll's head.

The troll didn't fall down. Instead, it got mad. It ran toward Harry, who was only calm enough to think because of his bond. He pointed his wand at the troll's feet and shouted, "Reducto!" breaking the creature's foot and causing it to fall. He then levitated the troll to the top of the maze and walked under it, keeping his wand pointed at the beast the whole time. Once he was safely on the other side, he released the troll, who fell with a loud crash. He glanced at the troll to see it wasn't moving before running off, hoping he hadn't lost much time.

-

Ginny was glad when Harry's fear turned into relief.

-

Harry soon came across an orange fog that he didn't like the looks of. He tried every spell he could think of to remove it, to no avail. He cast a bubblehead charm around his head in case the fog was toxic, and walked forward.

After his second step into the fog, he saw that he was moving backwards. He looked down in horror to see his head was on backwards. He saw his back instead of his stomach and his legs were pointed backwards. He turned around and took another step to find himself back to normal – and on the wrong side of the fog. He thought about it for a few seconds and then exclaimed, "It's an illusion!" With that in mind he walked back into the fog and kept stepping, even though it looked and felt like he was walking backwards. After fifteen steps, he was back to normal and through the fog, so he removed his bubblehead charm.

After turning more corners and facing more creatures, he eventually came across one of Aragog's kids. The huge spider immediately attacked him as behind it he watched what appeared to be a sphinx turn into a canary in front of Fred. Harry blasted at the spider, but nothing seemed to penetrate it. The creature soon had Harry underneath it, his left foot broken by one of its legs stepping on him. Harry saw the pincers coming toward his face and briefly wondered what Ginny would feel when he died before the creature was blasted off of him. He turned to see Fred Weasley standing over him with a wand.

Fred offered Harry a hand, and soon Harry was up, leaning on Fred's shoulder. Fred then muttered a spell Harry didn't know, and a wooden crutch appeared out of nowhere. He handed it to Harry and said, "It'll only last an hour, so we'd better hurry. Fred then performed a spell on Harry's foot, which hurt for a moment, but then felt a lot better. Harry looked to see that his left foot was in a muggle cast. "I'm not sure about healing spells, and I didn't want to accidentally remove the bones," said Fred apologetically.

"No. Thank you very much, Fred. Now go on. We can both see the cup over there. You've earned it."

Fred smiled. "What would Ginny say if I left you here with a broken foot? Besides, I think Krum's bewitched or something. He attacked Fleur and got away before I could stun him. We can't let him find you, now can we? Come on."

Harry reluctantly took Fred's help. Together they walked toward the cup. Well, Harry sort of hopped on one foot while Fred walked. When they got to the cup, Harry once again started to protest, but Fred insisted, "They say only one of us should have the cup. This is the ultimate prank on the tournament itself!" Harry then nodded with a smile. "On three, two one."

The moment they both grabbed the cup, they felt a familiar pull beneath their navels. They found themselves lying on the ground in a graveyard. They'd dropped the cup when they landed.

"It's a portkey," said Fred. "No one told me about that."

"Me neither," said Harry as he used the crutch to walk around.

Fred looked at one of the gravestones and his face lost all of its humor. "Tom Riddle!" he said.

Harry shouted, "We've got to get out of here!"

"Back to the portkey!" said Fred.

They both were making their way toward the cup with Fred ahead, holding one of Harry's hands until a voice Harry recognized said, "Crucio!" causing Harry to let go as he writhed on the ground in agony.

"GGGGGet HHHHelp!" Harry shouted at Fred, who looked like he was going to try to help Harry.

Fred ran toward the portkey and grabbed it, just as he heard someone say, "Kill the spare!"

-

As Fred appeared back at Hogwarts, only Ginny knew something was wrong. She felt Harry's pain as he was being tortured, and was now feeling his dread. She got up and started making her way down, followed quickly by Hermione, Molly, and Arthur, who could see by her face that something was amiss.

Fred ignored everyone who was congratulating him for winning as he ran toward Dumbledore, who was standing next to Minister Bones. "Riddle!" he shouted, panting from his effort. "Harry's in a cemetery with Riddle's grave!"

"New Hangleton," said Dumbledore, his eyes wide with shock. He turned to Amelia. "Would you care to accompany me on a rescue mission?"

"Of course Albus. Who is Tom Riddle?"

"Voldemort," he said as he grabbed her arm and apparated them away.

Ginny, who'd heard the whole thing, ran up to Fred with tears already falling from her eyes. She had a look on her face that could've scared Voldemort himself. She started banging her fists on Fred's chest as she shouted between her tears, "YOU LEFT HIM ALONE WITH TOM!!!! HOW COULD YOU!?! He was being tortured when you left, wasn't he?"

"Ginny," said Fred, trying to grab her wrists. His chest was starting to hurt.

"Tell the TRUTH!!!"

"He, er, was under the cruciatus curse when I left."

She then slapped his face hard. "I HATE YOU! YOU BLOODY COWARD! YOU…"

"He told me to get help! I swear, Ginny!" said Fred as a red handprint appeared on the left side of his face.

"That's not all! He was already hurt, wasn't he you…."

"That's ENOUGH Ginny!" said Arthur as he grabbed her wrists to save Fred's life.

-

Albus Dumbledore and Amelia Bones apparated to the outskirts of the town of Little Hangleton. "No doubt Voldemort will have wards around his immediate vicinity that only Death Eaters can pass through, especially considering that Mr. Weasley escaped. I suggest we hurry this way."

Together they walked briskly toward the cemetery where Tom Riddle Sr. was buried. Bones asked, "So you're saying that V-Voldemort isn't his real name."

"No, Madam Bones. Lord Voldemort is a half-blood named Tom Marvolo Riddle. I personally delivered his Hogwarts letter at the orphanage he lived at. He was a top student while he attended. After he graduated, he disappeared for a long time, but when he reemerged, he called himself Lord Voldemort, which is an anagram for his real name."

"But didn't he die when he tried to kill Harry Potter?"

"His death curse backfired on him and should have killed him, but he had taken steps to insure that he couldn't die. Instead he was greatly weakened. Harry Potter faced him during his first year at Hogwarts, and apparently is facing him again. Here we are. Oh no!"

At that moment they were at the edge of the cemetery and saw Voldemort standing in a new body. He was touching his wand to the arm of one of his servants, though he was too far away to recognize him.

-

Harry, tied to a gravestone, watched in silent horror as Voldemort pressed his wand to Wormtail's Dark Mark. He felt the blood still flowing from where his arm had been cut. He was utterly disgusted to think that his blood had been used to resurrect the monster that had killed his parents. He wished he'd concentrated more on his animagus transformation. He had been too busy learning new hexes, so he couldn't quite manage to transform yet and try to escape. He felt so useless, and he realized with shame that Ginny was feeling the same thing. He watched as several Death Eaters apparated to the graveyard to meet with their lord and wondered briefly if he was going to be the entertainment. He was completely surprised when one of them fell over unconscious.

-

At that moment, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Slughorn were standing together trying to calm down the crowd that was gathering around where Ginny had yelled at Fred. They were asking questions about why Dumbledore and Bones had left and where Harry Potter was (Fleur and Krum had gotten out of the maze by now). All of the sudden, another Professor Slughorn limped his way into that crowd. He pointed at the other Slughorn and shouted, "That's an imposter! He attacked me!"

McGonagall and Flitwick immediately pulled their wands on the imposter, who managed to trip McGonagall into Flitwick and start running until he was hit with…the Bat-Bogey hex followed quickly by the full body-bind. Ginny, who'd fired both curses, put her wand away as she glared at the person responsible for Harry's predicament. She knew that he was still conscious as the bogeys kept attacking his face while he lay there unable to move. She smiled as she suddenly felt hope coming from her bondmate as she waited for the Polyjuice potion to wear off of the imposter.

-

"WHAT!?!" yelled Voldemort as all of them looked around to find the assailant.

"Hello Tom. It's been a long time."

"Dumbledore!" shouted Riddle, "and the Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones."

Harry struggled to turn toward their voices, hope finally penetrating his hopelessness.

"Mr. Riddle," said Bones with a smirk.

"Don't call me that! Crucio!"

At that moment, she dodged and all pandemonium broke out. Hexes were flying everywhere as Harry watched in awe as Dumbledore summoned headstones to block curses. The headmaster was taking out Death Eater after Death Eater like it was easy. Harry realized why this was the only wizard Voldemort ever feared.

Bones wasn't doing bad herself either. She'd already taken out one before Harry heard Riddle order, "Retreat!" and they all apparated away, leaving four fallen comrades behind.

"Professor, Minister!" shouted Harry, who was not sure whether they'd seen him or not, and didn't fancy the idea of being left behind.

"Thank Merlin!" exclaimed Dumbledore as he finally saw Harry. "When I saw Voldemort, I had feared the worst! Are you alright?"

After Albus freed Harry, healed the cut on his arm, and conjured him a new crutch, he and Bones collected the wands (locating and returning Harry's) and magically tied up the incapacitated Death Eaters. All but one of them. They found Peter Pettigrew had bled to death from where he'd cut his own hand off. The others that had been captured were Avery, Macnair, and Crabbe.

-

Albus and Harry arrived at Hogwarts moments before Minister Bones did. Ginny immediately ran to him, embracing him tightly, knocking the crutch out of his hand, as Hermione and Mrs. Weasley got in line. Sirius, Mr. Weasley, Ron, Fred, and George were behind them, and Madam Pomfrey was quickly approaching.

While Dumbledore was being informed by McGonagall that Ginny had captured Lucius Malfoy, Minister Bones stood in front of the crowd and performed the Sonorus charm on her throat. "Wizards and Witches, I'm afraid that I have a terrible announcement to make. I've seen it with my own eyes, as have Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Lord Voldemort is back."

-

Please review. Thank you to all who have.


	38. Recovery

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 38 – Recovery**

As soon as the minister announced, 'Lord Voldemort is back,' the people in the stands flinched at the name and silently stared at Minister Bones.

The first people to speak were reporters who began bombarding her with questions. Amelia raised her hands to silence them. "Instead of asking individual questions, let me tell the story. First of all, because of precautions he took, Voldemort was weakened and banished thirteen years ago, but not completely killed. Peter Pettigrew found him and together, they found a way to give him a new body. The Triwizard Cup had been turned into a portkey by Lucius Malfoy, and when both Fred Weasley and Harry Potter grabbed it – that's right, they both touched it at the same time, it brought them to the cemetery where Voldemort's muggle father Tom Riddle was buried."

"Are you saying that you-know-who's a half-blood?" one of the reporters blurted out.

"Yes. His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle, but he hates that muggle name so he rearranged the letters to say 'I am Lord Voldemort' because he likes that name better. Anyway, Mr. Weasley managed to escape to get help, and Professor Dumbledore and I were able to capture several Death Eaters and rescue Harry Potter. Peter Pettigrew died during the battle. Mr. Potter has been through enough tonight and I'll thank you to leave him alone as he needs medical attention." She then turned to Dumbledore. "Is there anything you would like to add, Headmaster?"

Pointing his wand at his throat, he said, "Only that difficult times lie ahead. Very soon we will all have the choice between doing what is right and what is easy. I pray that we will all make the right decisions and that together we will be able to stand against this threat to our way of life."

While Albus was speaking, Harry was levitated in the direction of the hospital wing, with an entourage consisting of the Weasleys, Sirius, and Hermione following close behind.

While they were moving, Harry called out, "Ginny?"

"Yes Harry, I'm here," she said, grabbing onto his hand.

"Did I hear correctly that you took out Lucius Malfoy?"

She blushed. "Er, well…"

"That's right!" bragged Ron, "Didn't know what hit him!"

Harry smiled. "Good job!" He sighed, thinking about his own lack of performance in the graveyard.

Sensing his mood swing, Ginny said, "You did great, too!"

"At being tied up while he takes my blood!" He began raising his voice. "He used me! The only reason I'm alive is because he'd planned something special and I'm sure entertaining for his buddies to see! I was just…"

"You're not the only one Tom ever used! You're not the only one he's made feel helpless!"

He felt her anger and pain at the memory of Riddle's diary. "I, I know, it's just…I'm supposed to be the one doing the rescuing. Not the…"

"Helpless victim?" added Ginny.

"Now Ginny-dear," interrupted Molly, "I wouldn't…"

"Mother."

"Yes dear."

"Shut up."

Molly could see the determined look on her daughter's face, and realized that Ginny knew exactly what Harry was feeling, so she probably should keep out of this. "Yes dear, but don't tell me to…"

"Shut up." Ginny turned back to her bond mate. "Listen to me, Harry! I'm sure you'd have found some way out of there if Dumble…"

"Not unless Tom gave me back my wand, I wouldn't! I was completely at that monster's mercy and he knew it! I'm sorry that Fred was in danger because of me. I…"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TOLD HIM TO LEAVE YOU BEHIND YOU STUPID NOBLE PRAT! I'll bet the two of you could've escaped together, but…"

"Ginny," said Fred.

"Stay out of this! I'm not through with you yet!" She turned back to Harry. "Even though it was stupid, you were a hero trying to rescue Fred, ready to sacrifice yourself. You really need to do something about your martyr philosophy. Anyway, because of that some Death Eaters were stopped. Who knows what else might have happened? Maybe no one would know he was back!"

"Yeah right! I know you're trying to make me feel better Ginny, but I know when I've failed!"

At that moment they arrived in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey shooed everybody out, leaving Harry free to wallow in his misery as she treated his various injuries. He soon felt comfort being sent to him by Ginny, but he concentrated hard and sent it back to her. He then felt hurt and anger coming from her. About that time, Pomfrey gave him some dreamless sleep potion, which he gladly drank.

-

"Stupid git!" shouted Ginny as she felt her comfort returned.

"What?" asked Hermione, who was standing nearby outside the hospital wing doors.

Glancing around for prying ears, Ginny finally whispered, "I tried to send Harry comfort, but he sent it back. He wants to wallow in self pity."

"So you can refuse each other's feelings being sent through your bond. That's interesting. I…"

"Hermione, the point is that he's in pain and won't let me help!" Her eyes filled with tears as she felt his depression grow, and then subside. "He's in some kind of weird unemotional sleep now."

"Madam Pomfrey probably gave him dreamless sleep potion."

"I wonder if this is how I felt to him during the second task." She shrugged. "At least I can get some relief from his depression."

About then, Pomfrey allowed them to come in and sit by Harry, even though he was asleep. The others were all nearby and filled up the hospital wing long enough for everyone to see that Harry was alright, at least physically. After about an hour, everyone was kicked out of the hospital wing again, and no matter how much Ginny protested, she was included in everyone.

-

As she lay in bed trying to sleep, she was able to tell the moment that the dreamless sleep potion wore off.

Harry had awakened at about four in the morning to thoughts reminding him of what a helpless freak he is. 'Even Ginny could defend herself but not me,' he thought. 'Voldemort took my blood and there wasn't a thing I could do about it but scream from the pain! That monster is using my blood to kill people! I am a worthless freak!'

-

As Ginny felt his despair, she knew she had to do something. Fearing that he would simply reject any comfort she sent him, she decided to make her way to him. She thought about getting Harry's cloak after getting dressed, but decided she didn't want to be caught in the fourth year boys' dorm in the middle of the night. She snuck out without his cloak.

Her small size and ability to hide helped her to slowly make her way to Harry. When she stepped into the dark room, Harry's hand reached for his wand. "Who is it!" he said while pointing his wand at her.

When Harry felt her sudden fear, he realized the identity of the visitor. He put down his wand. "Ginny, you shouldn't have come here." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry you had to feel what I'm, I'm feeling but there's nothing we can do about it. Maybe. Maybe Dumbledore could find a way to protect you from the bond to…"

"Harry James Potter, don't you DARE finish that sentence!"

"Last night I thought I was going to die! I wondered what would happen to you! I don't know why you want to be linked to a useless freak like me, anyway!"

"You weren't useless in the Chamber of Secrets!"

"But I am now! I just stood there tied up while that rat cut my arm! I couldn't do a damn thing about it! Then again, I nearly died in the maze without help from Voldemort! They had a huge spider; I guess one of Aragog's kids, in there. It's what broke my leg! If Fred hadn't blasted it, I'd have died before getting to the cup. I guess that would've ruined Tom's party even before Dumbledore did." He chuckled slightly to himself. "At least he wouldn't have my blood in him. I wonder if that gives me a bond with him too."

"That's not funny!"

"No it's not. It means you're indirectly connected to him. We really need…" Smack! Ginny slapped him in the face.

"Don't you ever dare to suggest breaking our bond again! Look at me!" He turned his face, which was developing a red mark where she'd hit him. "I love you, and want to be with you, bonded to you, for the rest of our lives. I don't have all the answers, but I know that shutting yourself away from the people that love you will not stop Voldemort!" She sobbed. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"Quite right, Miss Weasley," said a familiar voice behind them.

Ginny turned. "Professor Dumbledore. I was just…"

"Relax, Miss Weasley. I quite understand." He then turned to Harry. "I too am relieved that you are alive and well, and that is what is most important. By sending Mr. Weasley for help, you saved both of your lives. I have no doubt that Voldemort only wanted you, and would've killed the extra person who was with you if he'd had the time."

"I, I suppose so," Harry said, "But I can't stand the idea that Voldemort has my blood."

"Now he'll be able to touch you," said Dumbledore sadly, "unlike when he possessed Professor Quirrel. I had hoped that you would be able to spend some time at the Dursleys this summer to renew the blood wards, but they returned my letter with the word 'no' written on it. Apparently they feel that since they are no longer your guardians, they won't give you house space."

Harry finally smiled, and Ginny was glad to feel that it was genuine. "I can live with that."

"I suppose you'll have to. But that does take away some protection from you. Black Manor is going to be put under the Fidelius Charm with myself as Secret Keeper the day before the students return home. Sirius has also agreed to allow the Order of the Phoenix, a group of people dedicated to Voldemort's downfall that I organized during his last reign of terror, to use the mansion as headquarters. It will be difficult not having a spy in the organization." He sighed. "Anyway, I trust you won't mind that the Weasleys will be moving in there for a few months as well, until the Burrow can be properly warded." The smiles on both Harry and Ginny did not go unnoticed.

"What about Hermione and her family?" asked Ginny. "They're muggles, and Hermione is a muggleborn witch who's friends with Harry. Are you going to protect them?"

"I suppose I'd better. They are very likely to be targets. Death Eaters won't expect much opposition from them. We'd better at least ward their house if not move them into hiding."

"Is there any way you could put an extra ward that won't allow a Dark Mark to enter?"

"That's an excellent suggestion, Mr. Potter. I just wish I could…maybe now I can." He scratched his chin while considering. "I believe that I shall add a ward like that to the protection around Hogwarts."

"What else is being done, professor?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I gave Minister Bones some suggestions. One she accepted while the other she didn't. She will be removing the Dementors from guarding Azkaban in a few weeks, once she has put together a proper guard. She agreed that those foul creatures will join Voldemort anyway. At least now they won't free the prisoners when they leave. I suggested her sending an envoy to the giants, but she refused. I believe that the ministry will be sending information leaflets to everyone, telling them what they should do if they are attacked. I certainly hope that the Death Eaters will allow their victims the time to review the leaflet during attacks." Harry and Ginny chuckled as Albus' eyes twinkled. "In any case, I do believe that it is time to leave Mr. Potter alone to go back to sleep. Miss Weasley, I shall escort you back to the Gryffindor common room."

After she briefly kissed Harry and said, "Goodnight," she followed Dumbledore out of the hospital wing. Harry couldn't say he was entirely over his depression, but he did feel a bit better. He had to admit he was glad that the Weasleys would be spending the summer at his house. He wondered how closely Mrs. Weasley would monitor him and Ginny.

-

In a ceremony a few days later, both Fred and Harry were awarded 500 Galleons for tying in the Triwizard Tournament. The cup (after having the portkey spell removed) was to remain in the trophy room at Hogwarts unless/until the contest is held again. Harry agreed to go in as a partner with Fred and George's joke shop. Ginny apologized the Fred for her outburst, and the four of them decided to pull a prank at the leaving feast.

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have.


	39. Leaving Hogwarts

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 39 –Leaving Hogwarts**

The atmosphere at Hogwarts as the final feast approached was nervous because the shadow of Voldemort's return left the students wondering how safe they and their families would be. They knew that Hogwarts was safer than any of their homes, so the prospect of leaving wasn't an entirely reassuring idea. The muggleborn students were even more worried than the others. Everyone knew that the Ministry of Magic hadn't even been able to stop a handful of Death Eaters at the World Cup a year ago, and that Harry Potter had been kidnapped from a ministry-sponsored event. Fortunately, they also knew that the Minister of Magic did participate in Harry's rescue, but that he'd spent the night in the hospital wing. Overall, they weren't entirely confident in the ministry's ability to protect them.

People were walking quickly to their destinations without stopping to chat. Everyone would flinch at the slightest noise. In the mornings everyone would scan the Daily Prophet for any news about Voldemort's activities. The fact that there hadn't been any Death Eater attacks yet seemed to make them even more nervous. The team of pranksters felt that this was the perfect time to lighten up the mood with a prank on the whole school.

-

The feast began normally, with Dumbledore beginning it with a speech, "Another year gone. This year has had good times and bad. This year has seen Minister Fudge replaced, both Harry Potter and Fred Weasley become Triwizard Champions, and Voldemort returning. We have made friends with students from both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Our bonds of friendship between them and our other friendships will be crucial to maintain during the perilous times that lie ahead. But we also must remember to enjoy the moment…." Bang!

At that moment, pandemonium erupted as everyone in the Great Hall was affected by the latest prank. Dumbledore found himself dressed as Santa Clause. Sprout was Mother Nature. Flitwick was very upset to see that he was Cupid, complete with wings and a halo, wearing nothing but a diaper and carrying a bow and arrows as he floated six feet above the floor. McGonagall was the Tooth Fairy. Trelawney had rabbit ears, whiskers, and a tail. She was carrying an Easter Basket full of eggs. The ever-vigilant Mad-Eye Moody couldn't stay awake as he was the Sandman, dressed in a nightcap and nightshirt. Slughorn had a long white beard and a staff as he represented Father Time.

The Slytherins all looked like Vampires, with pale skin and fangs and black dress robes, except that huge bat wings were growing out of their backs. Harry was amazed at what little difference that made in Draco's appearance. The Ravenclaws looked like baby chicks in the process of hatching. Each of their heads, arms, and legs were sticking out of an eggshell that seemed to be all they were wearing. Instead of lips, they had beaks. The Hufflepuffs looked like the Scarecrow from the muggle movie, 'The Wizard of Oz.' The Gryffindors were all wearing green outfits like Santa's elves.

"Well," said Dumbledore/Santa chuckling, "Obviously someone has taken my advice on enjoying life to heart. Let the feast begin!" The food appeared in front of everybody, and they dug in. The Slytherins actually found the fangs helpful in chewing their food.

Harry turned to Ginny. "You look really cute in the outfit."

She blushed just a little. "I was hoping you'd like it. Too bad you're not a vampire. Except for the wings. You would look sexy in those dress robes. Not to mention the fangs."

His eyes widened. "You want me with fangs?"

"It would be fun to wrap my tongue around them," she said, batting her eyelashes at him seductively.

"As soon as we're alone, I'll arrange it."

-

The prank wore off when the feast was over, and true to his word, Harry made fangs for himself, but found that he had to hold back while snogging Ginny, afraid he'd hurt her. The fact that she could feel his fear spoiled the mood. They decided not to try that again.

They'd both started concentrating on managing their animagus transformations once Harry was released from the hospital. They knew they were extremely close to achieving their wolf and cheetah forms, respectively. They expected to do that within a month, if not sooner.

After that they were going to start working on the dragon. They both realized that this would require them achieving level three of their bond, and once Ginny made it very clear that she had no intention of trying to sever their bond, Harry realized that being able to become a dragon would be helpful, so Ginny was able to talk him into working toward that as well.

-

The next day they boarded the Hogwarts Express for the trip home. Harry and Ginny were both excited about living in the same house and nervous about the kind of supervision they'd have to put up with while there. They sat in a compartment with Ron and Hermione.

After charming the compartment for privacy, the brunette girl surprised everyone by saying, "I'm staying with you, too. Mum sent me a letter that said that after speaking with Dumbledore they're going into hiding. They'll be at the station to say hello, but then they'll be leaving the country. They didn't tell me where they'll be, for fear that someone might find out, but that they'll have a way to communicate with me that's untraceable."

"Really," said Ron with a grin. He'd seemed down since he thought he wouldn't be seeing Hermione for a while. He knew better than to admit that he'd been jealous that Ginny would be with her boyfriend while he couldn't be with his girlfriend. "That's great!"

"I'm certainly glad you'll be with us, Hermione," said Harry, "but I hope you don't miss your parents too much. If you need to talk about it, we're all here for you."

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "I, well thank you, Harry. That's very thoughtful."

Harry felt Ginny's pride, happiness, and a desire to snog him senseless, causing him to blush. Ron noticed, but thought it was Hermione making him blush. He fortunately didn't say anything, putting it in the back of his mind. Harry said, "Er, well, I know you don't get to see your parents much. Hopefully this great way to communicate won't just be muggle mail."

Hermione chuckled. "It better not be."

"I wonder if Malfoy and his goons are gonna show up today," said Harry.

"They usually do," said Ron.

"Let me hex Malfoy," said Hermione with an evil grin. The others stared at her in amazement. "What? He was talking to his dad when he was disguised as Hagrid the day after Harry's name came out of the goblet! He's been in on this plot from the beginning and should be in Azkaban with his father right now! Or at the very least expelled."

Ginny sighed, "But Dumbledore loves to give people like him and Tom Riddle a chance to do more damage."

"Exactly!" said Hermione.

"Then I get Crabbe," said Harry.

"I get Goyle," Ginny claimed before Ron could.

-

Not long after that, Hermione removed the charm from the door. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle wasted no time in showing up, the first two looking angrier than ever.

"Hey scarhead! I'll bet you and your blood-traitor whore are really pleased with yourselves!"

"I'm pleased I didn't need anyone to buy me a girlfriend like you did, if that's what you mean."

As others were snickering, Ginny said, "How much did your Filthy Death Eater dad pay for Pansy's betrothal anyway?"

Hermione added, "I'll bet it was a lot to get her parents to let a filthy Death Nibbler like you have her!"

"More money than your family will ever see," Draco said with a sneer while looking at Ginny, unless of course you're getting both the Potter and Black fortunes for your services."

"If you're trying to insult Ginny," said Harry lightly, "Come up with your own insults. Don't use mine. Besides, what I said about Pansy is true. It's a matter of public record. Your betrothed is bought and paid for. What you said about Ginny is not true. However, I do believe that your jailbird dad had to pay quite a bit of money to find someone for a squib like you."

His face turned red. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle started pulling out their wands while Harry, Ginny, and Hermione hexed them. Harry gave Crabbe the bat-bogey hex, while Ginny did the same with Goyle. Hermione hit Draco with a hex that turned his nose into a pig snout and turned his hands and feet into pig hooves, causing him to first drop his wand and fall flat on his face, revealing a tail growing behind him. He ran on all fours after his companions who were fleeing bat bogeys.

While they were laughing, Harry stepped on one end of Draco's wand and grabbed the other end. He then 'accidentally' broke it. "Whoops!" he said with mock sorrow. "How could I ever be so clumsy?" He then kicked the two pieces out the door as both Neville and Luna walked up to the compartment.

Luna was laughing hysterically while Neville was chuckling. "Was that Malfoy running off on all fours with a tail?"

Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron burst out laughing.

"Come on in," Ron said in between snorts.

As soon as they walked in, Hermione sealed the door again.

"Oh, that's what you're doing," said Neville. "We tried the door earlier but it wouldn't open."

"Sorry," said Hermione with a worried look.

"That's alright," said Luna, "I'm sure you were just keeping the ascloaps out."

"Something like that," said Ginny while suppressing a grin.

-

They spent the rest of the trip chatting about various things until finally the train came to a halt. Neville and Luna said goodbye to the others after they dismounted. Harry's quartet found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Sirius Black. As they approached, so did Fred and George.

Mrs. Weasley started hugging everyone while saying, "Hello! How was the trip?"

While the others answered, Harry noticed that Draco was just getting up while his mother was removing the hex. He smiled and turned to Mrs. Weasley, accepting her hug.

"Hermione, it is so wonderful to see you!" said her mum while hugging her. "You've grown. I wish you could spend the summer with us, but Professor Dumbledore insisted that we must leave. Here." The woman slipped a wrapped package into her daughter's hand. "He said Sirius and Harry will know all about it. She whispered in Hermione's ear. "It's a two-way mirror."

"Great," said a smiling Hermione. "I was hoping it wasn't muggle post."

Her mum giggled, "Nothing but the best for my girl. I love you."

Her father then hugged her tightly, "I love you too, sweetheart."

"I love you both very much," said Hermione, who now seemed close to tears.

After a few minutes of chatting, where Mr. Granger seemed to individually tell everyone there, even Ginny, to take care of Hermione (much to his daughter's embarrassment), the muggles left and Sirius pulled out a length of rope. "Everybody grab on." Once they all had a hold on the portkey, Sirius said, "Activate."

-

Please review. Thank you to everyone who has. Sorry about this taking longer than usual. I've been working on another story called 'Harry McGonagall.'

By the way, I used the mythical figures from the movie 'Santa Clause 2.'


	40. The Beginning of Summer

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 40 – The Beginning of Summer**

As usual, Harry, along with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, fell as they landed in Grimmauld Place while Sirius, Arthur, Molly, and the twins managed to stay on their feet.

"Well," said Molly, "I believe that I'll make us some lunch. Ginny-dear, why don't you help me in the kitchen?"

"Could I put my stuff away first, Mum?"

"I'm sure Harry will be happy to take your trunk to the room you'll be sharing with Hermione. Won't you Harry-dear?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Sure Mrs. Weasley." He then grabbed her trunk and carried it upstairs, leaving his own for a second trip up the stairs.

-

After lunch was over, Arthur returned to work (he'd only had a half-day off). Harry and Ginny snuck off to Harry's room to practice their transformations. "We shouldn't have quit this while I was training for the third task," said Harry. "I might have been able to escape by transforming."

"Well, at least this way Tom has no idea what you're capable of."

"Besides bleeding, you mean."

"Don't start that again! You simply didn't have the opportunity to show him what you can do!"

"All right. Anyway, we should get started."

Together they closed their eyes as they concentrated. Harry's hand became a paw as fur began growing on his body and from his clothes. His nose and mouth were reshaping into a muzzle while some of his teeth turned to fangs. His arms and legs were the right shape, but his torso was still the same. Frustrated that he couldn't get any further, he closed his eyes tighter together and concentrated harder. He didn't hear the door opening nor the surprised gasps. He did however hear the door slam shut. He opened his eyes as he reverted back to normal. First he saw Ginny, who'd also reverted back. He turned his head to see an astonished Ron and Hermione staring at the two of them.

Finally Hermione, whose ears were pink, spoke. "Y-You two have b-been doing this for a long time, haven't you?" Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Why didn't you tell us? Maybe we would want to join you!" She appeared hurt and angry.

"This isn't the only thing we do together that you're not invited to join," said Ginny defiantly.

Ron's face turned red. "You're not! I mean you can't be!"

"I was referring to snogging, brother dear," Ginny said with a smirk. "What did you think I meant?"

His face paled. "N-Nothing. Never mind. Why didn't you tell us you were learning to become animagi?"

"We don't want anyone to know. And we don't want to register."

"But Harry," said Hermione, "you have to…"

"I have to make sure that if Voldemort gets me again I have some surprises for him! If I register, I might as well send him a letter with Hedwig!"

"Okay," said Ron, "so you don't want You-Know-Who to know. Why couldn't you tell us? We're your best friends!"

Harry took a deep breath as he looked from Ron to Hermione. "Honestly, I felt that Hermione would feel compelled to either turn us in or hound us to register."

Hermione paled. "I would not. Well, it is dangerous you know. Not to mention against the law…"

"See what I mean?" said Harry.

"The decision's already made, Hermione. So don't you dare go telling anyone! Besides, Sirius has been helping us."

Hermione sighed. "Fine. I understand the need for secrecy now, but what about before? You've both almost achieved the full transformation, so you must have been working on this for a long time. Why the secrecy then?"

"I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps, and Ginny wanted to join me."

"Do you think you can help us become animagi?" asked Ron.

"Ronald!" said Hermione reprovingly until turning toward Harry and Ginny, "That would give us an advantage. Could you teach us?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other until they both nodded. "We can loan you a book," said Harry.

"But we won't help you until you've both read it," said Ginny, looking pointedly at Ron.

"What?" asked Ron, "You don't think I can do it?"

The others tried not to laugh at Ron as he defended his ability to read a book. "I'm just not interested in those school books."

"Including the Transfiguration book," said Ginny.

"So?"

"Animagus Transformation is a very complicated form of Transfiguration," said Hermione patiently. "Don't worry, I'll help you."

"How did you get in here anyway?" asked Harry, "We locked the door."

Hermione looked down. "Er, Mrs. Weasley said we could use alohamora if you two were alone."

"WHAT?" screamed Ginny as she stood up, "We'll see about that!"

She marched straight down the stairs with Harry following behind, not sure whether he was going to help her hex her mother or if he was going to stop her.

"Mother!" she shouted when she caught sight of the Weasley matriarch in the living room.

"Yes Ginny-dear, oh and Harry-dear," she said while turning to face them.

"Why did you tell Ron and Hermione they could magic Harry's door open?"

Molly's ears turned pink. "I, well, I don't think I have to answer that question, do I?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley. It's obvious you still don't trust us."

"Harry-dear, it's not personal. You two can do the same thing with Ron and Hermione. I just can't be everywhere at once and want to maintain a wholesome household here. I suggest that you not do anything that you don't want others to see."

Both Harry and Ginny were upset by this, but didn't see much point in trying to argue with her. They turned around and walked back in hopes of invading Ron and Hermione's privacy.

-

Later that night, just before dinner, while the kids were all upstairs, Arthur and Percy arrived at the house via portkey.

Looking around, Percy said, "Where are we? I thought you said we were going home."

Mrs. Weasley walked up to them. "Percy-dear, this will be home for a while. It's Sirius' and Harry's house. You'd know that if you'd ever bothered to visit. It's also the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix and one of the most secure houses in Britain."

"Order of the Phoenix?" repeated Percy, "What's that?"

"An organization that Dumbledore set up during the last war to fight You-Know-Who," said Arthur.

"Interesting. So it works with the Ministry. I suppose supplying extra manpower when needed. Very good."

"Well son," said Arthur nervously, "Actually it exists apart from the Ministry. You see, sometimes even a good minister such as Madam Bones can be a bit shortsighted. For example, she refused Dumbledore's suggestion to try to make some sort of peace with the giants so they don't join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, so Dumbledore sent Hagrid and…"

Percy looked horrified. "YOU WENT BEHIND THE MINISTER'S BACK!" He backed up, looking as though he thought that his parents were about to attack him. "You, you're vigilantes! You don't care about law and order! You're just as bad as You-Know-…"

At that moment, Molly slapped Percy across the face. "We are not! We're trying to save lives, not destroy them!"

"Mother! You're taking matters into your own hands, trying to do the government's job! Father! I can't believe you'd betray the Ministry like this! You're renegades! I suppose you expected me to join your little group? You're just lucky I don't report you!" He looked at the fireplace. "Is this on the floo network?" When they sadly nodded, he took a handful of powder out of the jar and shouted, "The Leaky Cauldron," as he threw the powder down.

-

Dinner was indeed a sad affair as Molly served everyone with tears streaming down her eyes. Once everyone found out what had happened, all the Weasley siblings wanted to murder Percy while Molly seemed to be mumbling things about failing as a mother. Sirius, Harry, and Hermione did their best to not get involved in the family dispute.

After that, Harry and Ginny continued working on their transformations, until finally a few weeks after the summer began, they'd finally achieved a full transformation on the same day. They excitedly told Sirius, who then watched them transform into a wolf and cheetah respectively. He was thrilled.

"I knew you two could do it! Great job, both of you!"

"Thanks!" they said together.

"Now all you'll need to do is work on speed of transformation and holding the form. If you practice every day, it'll become second nature to you."

"Ron and Hermione found out about it, so we can practice holding our forms at night," said Ginny.

"Good." Sirius then looked nervous. "So, have you thought about how you'll handle the dragon?"

Both Harry and Ginny blushed and looked down until Harry finally spoke. "We, er, discussed that. We believe that we'll need to reach phase three of our bond before we can do it."

"Y'know," added Ginny, "Merging our minds and spirits seems like what we'll have to do to have a combined form."

"We'll really be one entity at that point. It's just a guess, but we think that once we're in that phase, that'll simply be what we become when we transform while holding hands."

"The actual transformation might not require much extra work," added Ginny.

"I suspected that as well," said Padfoot as he cleared his throat. "So does that book tell you exactly what you, er, have to do to enter phase three?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Er, what do you have to do?"

"It doesn't require physical intimacy, if that's what you're asking," said Ginny smirking. "Lot's of couples do that in phases one and two. It's actually irrelevant to the phases."

"Thank goodness," said Sirius.

"We have to spend at least five hours every day for three months snogging passionately without interruption," said Harry with a straight face.

The worried look on Sirius' face caused both young people to start laughing hysterically. "You're just kidding, then?"

"Yeah," admitted Harry, "We have to sit or stand holding each other's hands while concentrating."

-

The young couple did that whenever they had the chance, but that hardly ever happened because of two factors. Molly wouldn't leave them alone very often, always having work for at least one of them. The other was that Ron would want to interrupt them when they were alone, and they didn't want to tell them about the bond, so they couldn't risk him walking in on them and asking what they were doing. Even with Hermione's help distracting Ron, they only got about an hour alone together at a time, and that was during Order meetings.

Once the Order members started showing up, the kids were expected to all go upstairs. In the middle of July, when the twins showed the quartet their new invention called 'extendable ears' and suggested they all spy on the Order, Harry said, "That sounds great guys! Tell us if you find out anything interesting."

The bewildered expressions on Ron's and the twins' faces were priceless.

"Are you saying," said Fred.

"That you don't want to listen in yourself?" said George.

"No thanks," said Harry as he grabbed Ginny's hand and they walked toward his room.

"Oi! You'd rather snog than know what's going on?" said Ron, looking frustrated.

"That's right," said Ginny with a grin, "and I'll bet Hermione would, too."

Hermione blushed as Ron looked at her with a grin. "Well, you see, they'll tell us anything they feel we need to know," she said.

"Yeah," said Ron, now blushing, "Fred, George, have fun. Tell us what they talked about after we've left the room."

-

Instead of snogging, Harry and Ginny were sitting in his bed silently facing each other while holding hands as the book directed them. They both had their eyes closed as they concentrated until there was screaming outside their door.

'_What was…_' Ginny heard Harry's voice in her head for the first time for a few seconds before it was gone.

Harry opened his eyes. "For a moment, I could swear I heard your thoughts, but then they went away."

"Me too," she said excitedly, "but we'd better stop. Mum's yelling at the twins and will probably be in here next.

Harry grinned. "Maybe we should hide under my blanket."

She giggled at that suggestion as she got up and moved to Ron's empty bed. "I can imagine how much she'd yell before even bothering to check if we were dressed."

At that moment, the door swung open and Molly looked at them both, and Ginny had the distinct impression that she was checking the state of their wardrobe.

"Harry-dear, Professor Dumbledore wants to see you."

"Um. Okay. I'll be right down."

-

Harry entered the kitchen to see that he was alone with Albus, whose face was grim. There was no twinkle in his eyes.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Harry," he said, pulling out his wand and charming the door for privacy. "Not that it'll do much good," he muttered under his breath. "Have a seat."

After Harry sat down, he said, "Professor, what's going on?"

"Last night Voldemort and a few of his followers broke into the Ministry of Magic. They made their way to the Department of Mysteries and stole one object."

Harry's eyes went wide. "Voldemort himself went there?" Dumbledore nodded. "What did he steal? Last night I thought I felt him get very happy."

The headmaster took a deep breath. "A few months before you were born, a prophecy was made regarding you and Voldemort. A Death Eater overheard the beginning of it, and it was enough to drive Voldemort to kill you. What was stolen is a record of that prophecy."

-

Upstairs, Ginny could feel how shocked Harry was. She felt the shock turn into anger as Harry realized that Dumbledore had kept that information from him. Finally she felt fear like he'd had in the graveyard while he heard the words of the prophecy. She sent him peace as she took his emotions, allowing him to have a civil conversation with Albus as Ginny cried and punched the mattress she was sitting on for no reason she understood.

-

"Thank you for telling me this now, sir. I believe I'll have to start working hard if I want to be the one to survive."

"Yes indeed. I suggest you tell your friends about it. Since Voldemort is already aware of the contents, we don't have to worry about him finding out. You may however, wish to keep the ministry or the press from learning about it."

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have.

P.S. If you don't know the words of the prophecy from OotP, I can't possibly imagine why you're reading this story.


	41. Beginning of Training

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 41 – Beginning of Training**

"Ginny," said Harry as he opened the door to his room. He found her as he expected, with swollen eyes, tears running down her cheeks, and an angry expression on her face.

"What's, what is it?" she said shakily. "What are we so mad about?"

He walked up and took her hand, calming her down partially. "I think we should also tell Ron and Hermione."

She chuckled slightly. "I think they're in mine and Hermione's room doing the same thing they were doing when Mum caught them earlier."

Harry smiled at the prospect of interrupting Ron and Hermione. "Well, let's see then." He got up with a devious grin on his face and walked toward the door.

-

"Alohamora!" said Harry with a wicked smile on his face. Followed closely by Ginny, he opened the door to find Ron and Hermione passionately snogging on her bed.

"Well," said Ginny, shaking her head in mock disappointment, "What do we have here?"

"What would your mum say?" said Harry sorrowfully as the couple disengaged, both of which were red faced – Hermione from embarrassment and Ron from anger.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted.

"The same thing you've been doing to us!" said Ginny, glaring at her brother. "Mum said we could!"

Harry took a deep breath. He enjoyed embarrassing them, but he felt he'd better get back to his purpose. "The reason we interrupted this snog-fest is because I've got something important to tell you all."

Hermione could tell by his changed expression that Harry was serious. "What is it?" she said while straightening her hair.

The raven-haired teenager took another deep breath as he sat on a bed. "Dumbledore just answered a question I asked him right after I woke up in the hospital wing, after saving the Philosopher's Stone."

All three of his companions stared at him. "Mate," said Ron, "That was three years ago. What did you ask him?"

"Why Voldemort came after me while I was a baby."

"When you got that scar?" asked Ginny. "I thought he was after your parents."

"No," said Harry, shaking his head. "He was after me."

"The books I've read don't ever mention his motive," said Hermione frowning.

"A few months before I was born, Dumbledore was interviewing Trelawney for her teaching position. He thought she was a complete fraud, and was about to leave when she went into one of her trances like she had the night Wormtail escaped. She said,

'_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies._'

"A Death Eater overheard the first part of that before being interrupted and ran back to tell his master. Snake-face concluded that it was either about me or Neville, so both of our families went into hiding."

Harry watched his friends as their eyes widened in fright. Hermione spoke first. "So he…he marked you with that scar." She pointed at his forehead. "That means it's you."

"Does Dumbledore know what power you have?" asked Ginny softly.

Harry sighed. "He seems to think it's love."

"What are you gonna do," snorted Ron, "walk up and snog the git senseless?"

"That's not funny, Ronald!" said Hermione, giving him a reproachful glance. Looking back at Harry, she asked, "Does he have any idea how love can help? Oh!!!" She then put her hands over her mouth and looked from Harry to Ginny excitedly.

Ginny smiled at her bond-mate. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Harry grinned back. "I guess so."

Ron said, "Would one of you like to include me in this conversation?"

"Not really, Ron," said Ginny as Harry became very interested in his shoes.

"I mean, I know you two are dating, but lots of blokes have girlfriends." He then looked at Harry with an odd expression. "You're not planning on bringing Ginny with when you fight him, are you?"

"N…" said Harry.

"He'd better not even think about leaving me behind!" interrupted Ginny, glaring from Ron to Harry.

"But what can Ginny do that's so special?"

"It's not what she can do, or what Harry can do," said Hermione, "It's what they might be able to do together!"

Both Harry and Ginny were glaring at the bushy-haired brunette. "Hermione!" said Ginny.

Ron looked between them. "Obviously there's something you three know that I don't know, and I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me!" He was obviously getting frustrated.

"It's none of your business, Ronald!" said Ginny angrily. "Mum, Dad, and Sirius know. That should be enough for you."

"Come on, guys!" said Ron.

Harry said, "Look Ron, this is kind of personal. Ginny and I will discuss tell…"

"You told Hermione!" said Ron.

"We needed her help researching it, you prat!" said Ginny.

Harry was getting mad at Ron. "Look, we may know something about that power, but that's not the point! The point is that up until now, Voldemort didn't know the whole prophecy. Last night he stole a copy of the prophecy from the Ministry, so he knows the whole thing!"

Ginny's eyes went wider as she realized, "Now he knows that the prophecy doesn't say who will win."

Hermione added, "He may have been a bit cautious before, because he wasn't sure…but now he knows that he can kill you, so…" She stopped, unable to finish as both she and Ginny began weeping silently. Ginny put her arms around Harry while Hermione did the same to Ron.

"So he'll attack me a lot more now, because he doesn't think he has anything to worry about," said Harry once Ginny let go of him.

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"I'm gonna start training. Y'know, practicing spellwork like we did for the tournament."

"But you're too young…"

"I know I'll have to wait until I get back to school for that, but I can research them now."

Hermione beamed at him. "I can help you find good spells!"

"I'm counting on that, Hermione. I also thought it might help if I started doing some muggle exercise. I wouldn't imagine most Death Eaters do that."

Ginny snorted. "Are you kidding? People like the Malfoys think sweating is beneath them!"

"They'd have their house-elf run a mile and claim they did it!" added Ron. "Sorry Hermione," he added when he saw her disapproval.

"No, it's the truth," she said after a moment. "That's why something needs to be done about that. But, anyway, you can't run around outside with V-V-Voldemort after you, and you can't run around here either. What kind of exercises were you planning?"

Harry looked down uncertainly. "I, er, was thinking I could probably buy some of those muggle…"

"Exercise equipment?" Hermione looked excited. "That's brilliant! Some of those machines work out the whole body, but don't take up much room. Hmm. I think you're a bit young for weights. I'm not sure, I'll have to check. I wonder if we could get someone in the Order to pick them up. Maybe you should ask Sirius to buy them. He is your guardian, after all. Maybe…" She pulled out a parchment and began making a list of criteria for the equipment, and then suggested learning some sort of muggle fighting as well.

After reassurances that they all were with Harry 'all the way' and were convinced he'd win (although Ron still seemed a bit miffed that they didn't tell him their secret) they separated to their rooms for the night.

-

The next day after breakfast, Harry explained his plans to Sirius, who smiled broadly. "That's a great idea! I'll get you some equipment today. We can turn one of the rooms here into a muggle gym. I also have an idea about learning fighting. I've got to go if I'm gonna get it all taken care of!" He was extremely excited about the whole thing as he hurriedly left the house.

Harry told his friends what was going on, so they waited four hours, either doing chores or playing games, until finally Sirius apparated into the house looking like a kid at Christmas.

"I'm back!" he said excitedly as he hurried up the stairs to an unused bedroom, followed closely by Harry and his friends. Taking out his wand, he shrank everything in the room except one end table, and stuffed it all into the closet. He then pulled out six different shrunk exercise machines he'd had stuffed in his pockets. After arranging them where he wanted them on the floor, he resized them properly.

He had a weight machine, two treadmills (which he charmed to work off of magic instead of electricity), and three machines that had several exercises on them that worked every part of your body. "This way several people can workout at the same time," he said happily.

Sirius also put an exercise mat in one corner so someone could do stretches, sit-ups, or push-ups on it. On the end table, he put a Wizarding Wireless Network receiver so they could listen to music while they exercised. Sirius then pulled out a bag that had exercise clothes for everyone. They all changed quickly in their bedrooms, and all five of them started using the new equipment.

-

With Hermione's help, they soon worked out a good exercise schedule for every day, and stuck to it faithfully. Seeing no point in keeping the prophecy from the Order, Albus informed them a few days later at a meeting. It was easy for Harry to tell when they were informed, based off of the way Molly started bursting into tears when she looked at them exercising.

The quartet also studied defensive spells daily, but didn't practice them. At first Harry had objected to the others joining him, but they insisted that it was important for them to be able to defend themselves during this war. Harry couldn't argue the fact that they were in danger of attack and it was best to be prepared.

Harry and Ginny continued working on phase three of their bond without being able to duplicate the moment of communication they'd achieved just before Harry was told the prophecy. Hermione finally managed to get Ron to read the Animagus book, so they began learning that.

About a week after they started exercising, the Daily Prophet delivered awful news. The Dementors attacked Azkaban and freed many of the prisoners, kissing several guards in the process. The next night, a small muggle village was attacked by Death Eaters. Fifteen muggles died before aurors arrived on the scene and drove them away. Madam Bones was quoted as saying,

"_In this time of crisis, it is important that we all work together – the Ministry, Hogwarts, everyone – to assure us the victory over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!_"

-

Before long, it was Harry's birthday, and he had a small celebration. Sirius and Molly both had wanted to make it a huge affair, but Harry had asked to keep it just himself, Sirius, Hermione, and the Weasleys. Molly had made the cake, so naturally it was excellent. After the cake came the presents.

Opening Ginny's present first, Harry found a dragon-hide vest. He looked at her in astonishment. He thought of asking how she could afford it, but decided instead to just smile and say, "Thank you very much!" and give her a quick kiss.

"I want you to always wear it, Harry," she said firmly with love in her eyes.

He didn't need an explanation of the danger he was in or that dragon leather was resistant to spells. That's one of the reasons he'd bought her the jacket for Valentine's Day. "I will, I promise." Then he grinned. "Even in the shower."

She giggled for a moment. "You know what I mean."

Hermione gave him a book on advanced defensive spells. Ron gave him a box of several chocolate frogs. Fred and George gave him some joke products. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave him a box that contained a new hand for their family clock.

As he was looking at it in awe, Arthur produced the clock from behind his back. Harry was acutely aware of Ginny's putting her arm around his shoulder as her father said, "Harry, we've considered you just like family for a long time now, and we've got a feeling that one day you may even officially become family." At this point he winked at Ginny, causing both her and Harry to blush.

Mrs. Weasley continued, "I know we've had our differences, but we want you to know that we love you as much as any of our children."

Harry could barely stop himself from crying as he got up and hugged Molly tightly. He felt Ginny join in that hug moments later. After they'd hugged Arthur as well, Harry moved onto the gift from Sirius.

He tore the box open and took a large ornate basin out of it. Sirius proudly said, "This Harry, is your own Pensieve!" He then pulled two small cases out of the same box. One was labeled, 'Muggle exercise' and the other was 'Muggle dueling.' He opened one to find several labeled test tubes containing what appeared to be a silvery liquid that seemed to float. They each were capped.

The teenagers stared at it for a moment while Harry's jaw dropped. Hermione said, "Are those memories of lessons?" Sirius nodded ecstatically. "What kind of dueling does that teach?"

"Several different kinds. Wrestling, boxing, karate, gunfighting, and swordfighting to name a few. Hopefully you'll find something you like!"

"Th-Thanks!" said Harry, completely astonished.

"It's nothing," said Sirius. "I'll teach you how to use it tomorrow."

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have done so.

I decided to provide the words of the prophecy for the benefit of anyone who couldn't remember the exact words.


	42. School Supplies

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 42 – School Supplies**

A few days later, Harry and Ron were coming out of his Pensieve dripping with sweat. They'd just completed a boxing lesson. Harry wanted to head for the shower, but unfortunately they had a lot more exercises to do, including a ton of sit-ups and push-ups, as well as a lot of jogging. Harry looked around the exercise room, where the Pensieve had been placed, and saw Ginny on one of the treadmills.

"Hey Ginny."

"Oh…Hi…Harry, Ron," she said between breaths. She was running very fast. "How did your boxing lesson go?"

"Okay, I think. I don't suppose we'll really know until we go against someone who knows how to box. I'm glad Kingsley is going to help Ron and me with that once a week." He then sighed. "I just hope he doesn't pulverize me the first day."

"I am not looking forward to that," said Ron as he got onto one of the exercise machines, "Why did you have to pick boxing?"

"Because I want to throw a better punch than Ginny," said Harry evenly, "besides, I didn't say you had to learn the same thing I am. The girls aren't." Harry chuckled at the indignant look on Ron's face as he got onto the treadmill next to his girlfriend. "Ginny, are you sure you're not overdoing it? You look exhausted."

"Just five more minutes," she quickly said.

He glanced at her treadmill's display as he began jogging. "That's a lot more than you did yesterday. You're gonna wear yourself out!"

At that moment she stumbled for a moment and turned off the machine before it could throw her backwards. "Maybe you're right. I am pushing myself a bit too hard," she said in between gulps of air. She was still breathing heavily as she grabbed a nearby drink. After a long gulp she said, "I just don't want to let you down."

Harry could feel the fear inside Ginny, and sent his confidence in her. "You won't let anybody down." As he shared her self-doubt, his own surfaced. "If anyone should be worried, it's me. Everybody's counting on me to do something I know that I can't do."

"Now you're worried, too," said Ron from his machine. "How about we just train the best we can and hope that by the time we face Death Eaters we'll be ready for them?"

Harry smiled at his friend. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Ron then turned to Ginny. "Where's Hermione?"

"Studying a book on karate," she answered, rolling her eyes. "I tried to convince her that simply taking the lessons and following instructions was enough, but she insisted that she read a book. She actually tried to get me to join her."

"That sounds like her," said Harry chuckling, "Hopefully, she'll learn something useful and tell you about it."

"I hope so," said the youngest Weasley, giggling. "I'm gonna hit the showers."

After Ginny left the room, the boys continued their workouts for another hour.

-

That night, just before dinner, the head of the Order of the Phoenix visited headquarters unexpectedly. He had a smile on his face, a twinkle in his eyes, and four small scrolls of parchment in his hand. "Hello Albus," said Molly happily. "What brings you here? You must stay for dinner."

"Thank you for your kind invitation, Molly. I believe I shall. I've come here to see Harry and his friends."

"Stay right here, Albus. I'll get them."

"Don't trouble yourself Molly. I can see that you are engaged in an important activity. I certainly wouldn't want to cause the roast to burn. I'll find them myself."

The headmaster made his way upstairs as Molly tended to the nearly prepared meal.

-

Harry and Ginny were in the room he was sharing with Ron, while the other two were in the girls' bedroom. The bonded teens were facing each other with their eyes closed while holding hands, working on sharing their thoughts when they heard a knock on the door. They quickly separated and Ginny went to Ron's bed.

"Who is it?" asked Harry.

"It's Professor Dumbledore. I'd like to speak to you and your friends if you're not too busy."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other before she said, "Come on in, Professor. I'll get Ron and Hermione."

"Ah, Miss Weasley, I thought I might find you here," he said as he opened the door.

"Hello, Professor," said both Harry and Ginny together as she got up to get the other couple.

"Hello," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

When Ginny left the room, Albus looked at Harry happily. "I understand you've chosen to study muggle boxing."

Harry nodded. "I like the idea of punching Death Eaters if they get too close. I don't think a Protego shield can stop a fist."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I suppose not. It may be a good idea to carry concealed weapons with you as well. After you've learned how to use them, of course. You never know when your life is in danger. I will need your word that you won't use them unless your life is in danger, of course, before I allow you to carry them around Hogwarts.'

"Of course. I wouldn't just randomly use a knife on somebody."

"I know. I simply felt it my duty as headmaster to mention it. The same privilege and responsibility goes to each of your friends, who should be arriving now."

At that moment, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione came into the room.

"Hello, headmaster," said Hermione politely.

"Hello, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley. Thank you for seeing me. Allow me to get right to the point because I believe Mrs. Weasley is nearly finished preparing what promises to be a lovely feast." The others smiled at that thought. "I informed Minister Bones of the prophecy, obtaining a promise to keep it quiet so that no one can leak the information to the press." Harry's head hung down, but he nodded. "I have also informed her of the admirable job all of you are doing in training for the day that prophecy is fulfilled. I then made a suggestion that she has agreed to. That is on these parchments." He then handed one scroll to each of them. Harry read his silently.

"_Dear Mr. Harry Potter,_

_Due to certain circumstances, the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Magic no longer applies to you. You have been given special dispensation, and we hope that you will use it wisely. The Statute of Secrecy naturally still applies to you, so don't perform magic in front of muggles unless someone's life is in danger._

_Sincerely,_

_Amelia Bones,_

_Minister of Magic_

_P.S. This means that you are eligible to learn and be licensed in apparition. Whenever you feel you are ready to take the licensing examination, contact the ministry and show them your Underage Magic License. They'll make you an appointment._"

Harry looked around as a smile grew on his face. He realized that all of them got a similar letters by the expressions on their faces. Dumbledore then reached into a pocket and produced four wallet-sized 'Underage Magic Licenses.'

"This was quite a favor," said Dumbledore gravely, "and I don't expect it to be a wasted effort. Naturally you can have some fun with your magic, but I expect you to practice Defensive magic every day. Remus Lupin is a fully qualified apparition instructor as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately, the Ministry won't hire him because of his condition, but he has agreed to teach you four to apparate. Ideally, you'll be ready before the summer is over. In any case, you will have a few lessons here every week for the school year, to learn advanced defense, as well as a few other things I've discussed with Remus and Sirius. If you're not finished with Apparition, then you'll start with that. Once Professor Lupin's convinced you will pass the exam, I'll arrange for each of you to take it at the Ministry on an individual basis so that no one will feel that they are holding the others back."

"That's wonderful. Thank you. Thank Professor Lupin for us as well!" said Hermione excitedly. "I wonder if there's a book on apparition here."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I shall owl a book here from Hogwarts later today, Miss Granger. I must say I admire your enthusiasm."

"Thank you, sir."

-

The next day began lessons in both apparition and magical dueling. Both Sirius and Remus helped them with dueling. First the kids dueled the adults, and then the kids dueled each other. Sirius arranged it so that no one would duel their significant other, mainly because he knew neither Harry nor Ginny were capable of harming the other. He thought it would be less suspicious if neither couple fought. Harry found that he was the best duelist of the four teenagers, but the others weren't bad either. Hermione knew the most spells, but it took her a second to decide which one to use, leaving her vulnerable to attack.

"I'm not telling you this to hurt your feelings, Hermione," said Remus kindly after he pointed out her problem, "I'm trying to save your life." Sirius was working with the other three while Hermione and Remus stepped out of the room to talk.

She took a deep breath. "I, I know. It's just hard to decide what to do."

He smiled. "My advice is to try using only a few hexes in a duel so that you can rapidly fire spells off. The point is to win the fight, not show off how many hexes you know."

She blushed slightly. "Okay. I understand. Which spells should I use?"

Lupin thought for a moment. "Until I teach you more advanced spells, try the disarming, stunning, and full body-bind spells. The problem with those spells is that they don't end the fight if anyone's there to help your opponent. Soon, I'll be teaching you spells that can get past shields – spells that can be lethal. If you're in a fight with someone who's using unforgivables, do not hesitate to use deadly force. For now, we're working on dueling technique, not the spells you use. Now, I suggest you go in there and wipe the smug look off of Harry's face."

She giggled. "I'll try."

She did do a lot better, and managed to beat Harry a few times, but not many.

-

A few days after that, the two couples were sitting in the boys' room discussing Animagus transformations, when four Hogwarts owls flew in the window, carrying school letters. Harry noticed that Hermione seemed nervous as she slowly began opening hers, but he shrugged it off and opened his. He soon found a surprise in his envelope. It was a scarlet and gold circular badge with a 'P' on a Gryffindor lion.

As he was trying to figure out what the badge was for, Hermione gave out an excited shriek. "I made Prefect!" she shouted for the world to hear, and then glanced at Harry's hands for a moment before adding happily, "You too, Harry! I knew it! Congratulations! Well done!"

Although he wasn't particular excited about having more work to do, Harry decided to fake enthusiasm for his friend's sake. He knew this was important to Hermione. He put on a broad smile. "Yeah. Congratulations to you, too!" He got up and hugged her briefly.

Ginny hugged Hermione and then Harry, whispering, "Good act," to her bondmate.

Ron finally hugged his girlfriend, saying, "Congratulations!" However, he didn't say a thing to Harry and seemed to be sulking. Harry wondered if Ron was jealous again, but wasn't about to start an argument if Ron wasn't. Hermione didn't seem to notice in her excitement, for which Harry was glad.

At that moment, Fred and George literally popped into the room.

"We thought we'd find out…" said George.

"If any of you three fifth-years…"

"Has acquired a badge of shame."

Upon noticing the badges Harry and Hermione were holding, Fred said, "We knew Granger would get one, but never expected…"

"Our little sister's boyfriend…"

"Who sneaks around the school with an invisibility cloak…"

"to get one."

"Please say that it only stands for Potter."

"I wish," muttered Harry so that only Ginny, who giggled, could hear him. Deciding to play along, he took on the most remorseful, sorrowful expression he could as he stood up with his head hung down. "I'm afraid not. I've failed you all. I'm a disgrace to my name, and I hope my girlfriend will someday forgive me."

Ginny got into the act, giving Harry a mock-outraged look. "I don't know if I can overlook this one, Potter. Now, everyone will expect me to be a prefect next year. Enough shame has already been brought to my family this way. I don't think I should associate mys…"

"Being a prefect is an honor!" interrupted an annoyed Hermione, "not a disgrace or a joke! Harry, you should be proud…"

"I know, I know, Hermione. I am. We were just having some fun, isn't that right guys." He gave Fred and George a look that said they'd be in serious trouble with Harry if they didn't agree.

"Of course, Hermione. You know we're always joking," said Fred.

"You worked hard to be a prefect, and now you are," said George.

"Congratulations!" they said together.

Just before popping away, Fred said, "At least we didn't have to disown Ron."

"What's all this noise?" asked Molly, who just opened the door. "Did I hear the twins apparating in here?" Then she noticed the Hogwarts letters in her children's hands. "I see you've got…" She saw the badges. "Oh Hermione! And Harry! You're prefects!!! I'm so proud of you both!" She shot Ron a disappointed look which did not go unnoticed by her youngest son. "We'll have to throw a party tonight! We've got to tell Sirius! I'm sure he'll be proud!"

"Proud of what?" asked Padfoot as he came up behind Molly.

"Harry made prefect! Hermione, too!"

Sirius looked momentarily stunned. "Harry's a prefect?"

"Of course he is!" said Ginny defensively.

"Oh, er, congratulations! Remus was the prefect from our year."

"I was just saying we should throw them a party," said Mrs. Weasley, looking a bit displeased with Harry's godfather's lack of enthusiasm.

Sirius smiled at the thought of another party. "Sure, we can have a party!"

"Arthur and I always got a special gift for our children who made prefect," she said with a tone of voice that suggested that Sirius would be hexed if he didn't give his godson something.

"A gift? Sure. Harry, what would you like?"

"Er, I don't know. Truthfully, all that training stuff you bought me…"

"Nonsense," said Sirius, getting into the spirit of things, "I bought that because you needed it before you became a prefect. Now I need to get you a gift."

"Maybe we could go to Diagon Alley today and I could look around for something."

"Well, we do need to pick up school supplies," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll call a few Order members and try to arrange an escort. In the meantime, Hermione, I suggest you owl your parents the good news. I'm sure they'll be proud!"

"May I borrow Hedwig?"

"Of course."

-

Ninety minutes and one lunch later, Molly, Sirius, Mad-Eye, and Remus were escorting Fred, George, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione into Diagon Alley from the entrance behind the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione's parents had sent some muggle money in an envelope with Hedwig, along with a note saying how proud they were and that they wanted her to buy something as a gift.

At Ron's insistence, they first stopped at Quality Quidditch Supplies, where he drooled over the brooms that were displayed. However, Harry didn't need a new broom, and still had his broomstick servicing kit. They left after ten minutes. They went next to Flourish and Blotts, where they got their school books. Padfoot decided to buy Hermione a book that she was looking at to congratulate her. She happily thanked him while Harry was looking around. After fifteen minutes, nothing caught his fancy, so they moved on. While they were leaving the bookstore, Harry noticed a man in dark robes with a hood over his head look at him for a moment and apparate away.

They continued on to Madam Malkin's to get new school robes. Like last year, Ginny was using Harry's old robes that he'd outgrown. She asked Madam Malkin if it was possible to have her dragon-leather jacket (Harry had bought her for Valentine's Day), which Harry insisted she wore for protection (with a cooling charm), to be changed to have removable sleeves so she could just wear it like a vest when it was warm. She said it could be done in just an hour, so Ginny, much to Harry's consternation, left the jacket there, promising to return before they left the Alley. He then took off the vest she'd given him and made her wear it. She reluctantly agreed to make him happy.

They then walked toward the Apothecary to get potion supplies. That's when all Hell broke loose.

From where they were, Harry saw no less than thirty uniformed Death Eaters appear in one loud 'pop.' "There's Potter!" shouted one of them, and he rolled up his sleeve and touched his wand to his Dark Mark while the others started shooting spells everywhere.

Harry didn't remember pulling his wand out, but he was ducking behind a crate firing spells at the attackers within five seconds of their arrival. Ginny was beside him, and he noticed others out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't have time to figure out who was where.

He smiled as he saw a Death Eater mask move as though something were trying to push it off the man's face. The victim dropped his wand, reaching for his mask, and managed to pull it off as Harry stupefied him and ducked again, dodging a curse. Chuckling, he realized the problem as bat bogeys freed themselves from the now-removed mask and began attacking the face. "Brilliant!" he muttered to Ginny as he petrified another Death Eater. He saw another's mask moving like there were bat-bogies inside it.

He swore under his breath as another attacker freed his comrade from the body-bind and began using a curse he'd learned for the tournament. "Reducto!" he shouted, separating the wand-hand from a Death Eater's body. The victim bent down to grab his wand with his other hand, only to be stupefied by Harry.

"OW!" he heard Ginny shout beside him as he felt her pain and fear.

Ducking down, he glanced at her to see that her arm had been hit with a curse and was bleeding. He didn't have time to do anything about it though. There was another 'pop,' and the Death Eaters that were firing toward him parted, revealing Voldemort.

-

As soon as the attack started, Hermione and Ron ducked into the nearest shop and started firing hexes out the window facing the street. It ended up being the first shop they'd visited, Quality Quidditch supplies.

Hermione and Ron ducked and shot disarming charms at the group that was attacking them. Unfortunately, the Death Eaters were putting up 'Protego' shields in time to block the spells, so at best, the young couple was stopping their attackers from hexing them. However, one of them blasted the wall beneath the window, and part of it collapsed into Hermione, who screamed in pain. That put Ron over the edge. Looking around for a way to stop them, he spotted the displayed Firebolt.

He ran and grabbed it, barely avoiding being shot, and mounted it. With his wand out, he began flying at incredible speeds in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding all of their spells, and got close enough to use a 'Reducto' curse on two of them who were standing together. They were knocked backwards with the force of the spell. One lost his left hand, the other his right. Ron began hexing the others with every spell he could think of, still moving around on the fastest broom in the world, and noticed that some spells were coming from Hermione's direction. When all of their attackers were unconscious, he flew back to Hermione, to see that she was bruised and a bleeding a bit, but nothing major was wrong with her. Suddenly the background noise died down.

-

Sirius began running toward the Death Eaters the moment they appeared, shooting 'Reducto's' out of his wand as he went. He surprised several by running straight into some, knocking them down. He found a stack of crates to use as cover on the other side of the street as he continued to fire and dodge. His plan was to occupy as many as possible, to keep them away from Harry. As it was, he was fighting ten of them, rather expertly, when someone appeared behind him. He turned around with his wand pointed at Molly Weasley.

"I thought you could use some help," she said as she began firing at the Death Eaters. He smiled as he turned back around and bound one in ropes, causing him to fall to the ground, dropping his wand in the process. He quickly stupefied him and started firing at another.

Molly got an idea and started shooting curses at their legs. Most of the time the Death Eaters didn't notice it coming, and when she made contact, they always fell down so she could quickly stupefy them. Molly and Sirius were firing so fast that the attackers didn't have time to revive their fallen comrades. They had to defend themselves.

The last of their Death Eaters shot a 'Reducto' at the crates Sirius and Molly were hiding behind, causing one of them to smash into Sirius' head, knocking him out. Molly stood up with more speed than you would believe possible and shot the culprit's wand-hand off before using the bat-bogey hex on him. After watching him get his mask off – a difficult process when one only has one hand – Molly finally stupefied him and looked around for her children before the battle scene quieted down suddenly.

-

When the fighting started, Fred and George looked at each other and popped away – straight into Zonko's. They quickly grabbed an arsenal of joke products and joined the fight.

Fred started firing the products out the window at whatever masked bigots they could find. Some of them exploded below the Death Eaters, turning them into various animals. George, who'd been providing cover fire, found it much easier to stupefy shocked, defenseless animals than Death Eaters.

Other products caused the attackers to grow extra limbs. One of them made someone's nose start enlarging as soon as the victim smelled a gas that was released when the bomb exploded beneath their feet. Still others did even crazier things, all of which had enough shock-factor to allow the twins to overpower them. They took down a dozen from that section of Diagon Alley.

-

Remus and Mad-Eye stuck as close to Harry as they could, about twelve feet away from him and Ginny, behind other barrels. The werewolf and retired auror, both of which had been defense professors, shot and dodged spells with incredible speed and accuracy, taking out Death Eater after Death Eater before they knew what hit them.

Moody's eye was spinning around, searching for any hiding attackers. He shot two different ones who were on a rooftop aiming at Harry. No one got close to hitting them as they blasted Death Eaters off their feet. Remus heard Ginny's scream, but knew he couldn't do anything now. Moody suddenly said, "Uh-oh. He's here."

-

"Form a circle around us. No one interfere!" hissed Voldemort as he confidently strode toward Harry (and Ginny, who was laying down, unnoticed by Riddle). "This shouldn't take long. You see Harry, there are people around who actually believe that you can defeat me, simply because of one miscalculation on my part, fourteen years ago. I hadn't accounted for your mother's sacrifice. But that's all in the past. It was prophesied that way. Who's going to die for you now?"

"I will, Tom!" shouted a defiant Ginny, now struggling to get up.

"Stay out of this!" Harry hissed at her.

A smile formed on Tom's deformed face. "Oh yes, the Weasley girl. I understand you enjoyed writing in my diary. I wonder…"

"Your fight's with me, Tom! Not her!"

"Then get up! Stop hiding like a coward and duel me like a man! Otherwise you'll go deaf from her screams of pain!"

Harry stood up and stepped between Ginny and Voldemort. He pointed his wand at Riddle, who appeared relaxed.

From behind him he first felt Ginny in tremendous pain, and then heard Ginny calmly say, "Crucio!"

The curse hit him in the back from less than a foot away. He found himself face-down on the sidewalk, shaking with more pain than he'd ever felt before, even in the graveyard. Somehow his mind grasped the idea that Ginny – his Ginny – was once again possessed by Riddle. He automatically felt strong love and compassion for her flow through their bond into Ginny (along with his hatred of Voldemort). He heard her voice start to scream behind him as the curse was released, but the scream ended in Voldemort's voice in front of him. Harry realized that Tom had been driven from Ginny's mind.

With Seeker reflexes, he quickly grabbed his wand, which he'd dropped while under the curse, and stood up to see Voldemort pointing his wand directly at him.

Voldemort shouted, "Avada Kadavra," and a green beam of light shot toward Harry.

At the same moment, Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and a red beam of light shot toward Voldemort.

The beams of light connected, and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating with energy. Riddle's wand was doing the same. As their wands stayed connected, a golden dome-shaped web formed around the two of them.

"Do nothing!" shouted Tom as a battle of wills took place.

Harry instinctively held his wand tightly with both hands, trying to force his spell to overpower Riddle's. As he was beginning to feel like it was hopeless, he felt love and confidence fill him and he gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the wand. He saw fear in Voldemort's red eyes as the red beam pushed the green one back further and further toward its originator. A moment before the spell hit Tom's wand, he pulled his wand away, breaking the connection, and apparated while shouting the word, "Retreat!"

The light-show ended, leaving Harry still pointing his wand where Tom had been standing. He was in shock, and barely registered all the conscious Death Eaters disappearing with a loud 'pop.'

He felt two arms wrap around him from behind and heard muffled crying from a face that was buried in his back. As he felt Ginny's sorrow and fear, he saw her still-bleeding right arm. He put his left hand over her hands, which were on his chest.

She pulled her head out of his back long enough to say, "I'm soooo sorry! I didn't mean it! I tried to stop him but he was so strong!" All of this was coming out of her in between sobs. He realized that she felt responsible for the curse. "I let you down."

"Step around and face me."

She reluctantly loosened her grip on him so she could do what he asked. He saw her eyes red from the tears that were still falling down her cheeks freely. "I can't believe he took me again. I'm so…"

"You fought him off!" he interrupted.

"With your strength," she retorted.

"And I fought him with your strength! I would've given up if I didn't feel your love and confidence in me."

"Really?" she asked, looking desperate.

He smiled at his love. "Yes, really. Today proved that we need each other."

"Harry-dear! Ginny!" shouted Molly from the middle of the street. She was running toward them. Aurors and healers had arrived as soon as the trouble was over. She left Sirius as soon as he was being helped. She looked at Ginny's arm. "Ginny, Let's go to one of the healers to get that taken care of!" She put one arm around Ginny and the other around Harry and they walked toward a healer.

While Ginny was having her arm treated, Harry noticed a healer working on a battered-looking Hermione with Ron standing over her. "I'll be right back," he said and walked over toward them. He was glad to see the brunette girl turn her head toward him.

"Harry! How are you and Ginny?"

"I'm fine. Ginny's arm got cursed but a healer's looking at it. What happened to you?"

"A store front fell on her," said Ron, "and she kept fighting!"

Harry could barely make out a blush on Hermione's face. "You're the one who rode out after them on a Firebolt. You were brilliant!"

"A Firebolt?" asked Harry, a smile forming on his face.

At that moment, an elderly man Harry recognized from somewhere called out as he was flying toward them on a Firebolt that looked scuffed up, with scorch marks, and with some of the brushes folded or missing, but appeared to be working perfectly. Harry thought that a Broomstick Servicing Kit would make it almost good as new. The man looked very happy. "Hey you, son. With the red hair!"

"Me?" Ron questioned as the man landed in front of him.

"Yes you. That was my Firebolt you rode today. I own Quality Quidditch Supplies."

"Oh?" Ron looked worried. "I, er, guess you're mad about the damage. Um, I'll try…"

"Don't worry about that son. That was some impressive flying, and fighting Death Eaters is certainly a worthy cause. I just wanted to discuss a problem that I have. You see, this broom is no longer brand new, so I can't sell it. It will only take up space, now, but I don't want to chuck it. I was wondering if you'd take it off my hands. I'll even throw in a broom servicing kit if you'll do me this favor."

Ron looked to Harry like he was gonna faint. He managed to say, "Um, sure, thanks."

"Wonderful. Just come with me to what's left of my shop."

Ron looked between the Firebolt and Hermione.

"Go on mate, I'll stay with her until you fly back."

"Go on Ronald. I'll be alright with Harry here."

Ron climbed on the back of the broom and they flew toward the Quidditch shop as Hermione dozed off.

About that time Fred and George apparated into the middle of the street grinning ear to ear holding a piece of parchment like it was the most valuable thing in the world.

"Oi! Fred, George!" called Harry, gaining their attention. They hurried to him.

"Hello partner!" said Fred.

"We just bought Zonko's!"

"What?" asked Harry, astonished.

"We fought from inside the shop…"

"Using some of their products."

"Anyway, the owner was scared by the attack and offered to sell the shop and the inventory to us."

"At a great discount."

"Just so he could stay out of town."

"It took almost all of the Triwizard money, but we own it."

"That's great guys, but aren't you going back to Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

"I'm afraid not," said Fred.

"Opportunity waits for no one!" said George.

"Just don't tell your mum when I'm around."

"Tell me what?" asked Molly, just as Ron showed up on his Firebolt.

"Ron Weasley, what are you doing on a Firebolt?"

"It's mine, mum!" he said excitedly as he landed.

"WHAT?" said Fred, George, and Molly at the same time.

Harry then walked away, looking for Sirius. Before he could find him, he caught sight of Lupin and Moody, who appeared fine. "Hey Moony!" he called, gaining their attention.

"Harry!" exclaimed the werewolf, "There you are! Are you and Ginny alright?"

"Fine. Ginny's arm was hurt, but it's healed now." He could no longer feel pain through their bond. She was simply happy. He glanced back toward Ron and saw that Ginny was examining the Firebolt. He must have just missed her. "Have you seen Sirius?"

"No," said Moody, "Is he missing?"

"He's the only one I haven't seen yet," said Harry.

Moody's magical eye spun around for about five seconds. "This way. It looks like he got punched in the face good."

They walked up to find Sirius looking around with two black eyes. "Hey, Harry, Moony, Moody! Have you seen everyone else?"

"Yeah! Right this way."

They walked back toward the group. Just before they arrived, Molly shouted, "YOU TWO MOST CERTAINLY ARE GOING TO FINISH HOGWARTS!"

"Why don't we wait a few minutes to join them," suggested Harry with a grin. All three agreed. Moody found their purchases, which thankfully weren't damaged, and they went into the Apothecary shop and picked up everybody's potion supplies, including Fred and George's. He figured that they could use it for inventing if they didn't return to school. If he didn't buy for them, Mrs. Weasley might be mad at him. Harry could tell that Ginny was enjoying the argument immensely. He figured they'd missed the worst of it, so they returned to the group.

Right after Harry said they'd gotten the potion supplies, Mr. Ollivander walked up to them. "Mr. Potter, may I have a private word in my shop?"

He looked around for guidance, but everyone seemed just as confused as him. "How about if my godfather and girlfriend join us?"

"Very well, if you trust them."

"I do."

"Then come with me."

-

When they reached the shop, Mr. Ollivander said, "Do you remember what I told you about your wand the first time we spoke?"

"That it has the same core as Voldemort's wand?"

He flinched at the name while Sirius and Ginny looked surprised. "You-Know-Who's wand. Correct. That is the reason for the phenomenon you experienced today when you dueled him."

"When our wands locked?"

"Yes. Brother wands aren't meant to duel. It seems you have a problem if you're going to fight him again."

"I can't use my wand against him?" Harry said with a worried expression on his face. "But that's the only wand that chose me! No other wand will work as well…"

"I know, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said politely. "I remember that you tried every wand in the shop. I was going to suggest trying now. I have more wands, many with Phoenix feathers that aren't from Fawkes."

"Dumbledore's phoenix?"

"Oh yes. Fawkes only donated two feathers. But I have been given feathers from other phoenixes. It is very likely that since one wand with a phoenix feather chose you, another will choose you as well. It could save us considerable time to skip the others."

Harry looked at Sirius. "How about this be my prefect gift?"

Padfoot grinned. "Sure, but I think I'll throw in a couple holsters."

Ollivander handed Harry a wand while saying, "I do have a wide variety of holsters for you to choose from."

As Harry took the wand from the old man, he felt it almost jump out of his hand. He dropped it and it rolled next to Ginny.

She bent over and picked it up. As she held it in her hand, she felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. As she raised the wand to hand it to the shop owner, a stream of red and gold sparks flew from it.

Ollivander excitedly clapped while the others were staring at the wand. "Miss Weasley, I knew that you hadn't come in for your own wand, and I certainly understand why. But this wand has chosen you, and I would be doing a disservice to the wand to put it back on the shelf. It will never choose another. I wish to give you this wand."

Ginny smiled at the old man. "Thank you very much, sir, but I can't…"

"I will not take no for an answer, young lady. My decision is final. Mr. Potter, try this wand."

After Harry had tried four wands, he found one that chose him. "Curious," said Ollivander.

"What's curious?" asked Sirius, who had chosen some holsters while Harry was trying wands.

"That this wand is a brother to the one that chose Miss Weasley."

Harry and Ginny both blushed while Sirius said, "They could never use those wands against the other."

Sirius purchased Harry's wand, along with two holsters for him, both of which become invisible when a wand is in it. They also resisted the summoning charm. Harry would wear one on his left thigh with his new wand, and the other holster on his right thigh with his original wand. Sirius decided to get another one for himself, and Harry bought one for Ginny as an extra birthday present so she could hide her new wand. He then decided to buy three more – one for Ginny's old wand and one each for Ron and Hermione. He decided that it was important to have a proper place to keep your wand.

When they left the wand shop, Ginny wanted to go to Madam Malkin's. She came in and found the place a mess, with the proprietor cleaning up with her wand.

"Hello Miss Weasley," she said, "I haven't been able to work on your jacket yet, for obvious reasons. I can owl you when it's done."

"Thanks, but it won't be necessary. I want the sleeves now. My arm got cursed in the attack. It's been healed now, but if I'd been wearing the jacket as it is now, I wouldn't have gotten hurt at all." Ginny gave Harry his vest back, and took the jacket from Madam Malkin. They then met up with the rest of their party, to find that Hermione had bought an owl with the money from her parents (after getting it changed to Galleons).

-

The rest of the week passed by quickly (Ron spent a whole day working on his Firebolt, and Harry had to admit it looked almost perfect). Harry didn't like how the Daily Prophet made him out to be a hero in their article about the attack, but couldn't do anything about it. Before long it was August 11th, Ginny's fourteenth birthday. Mrs. Weasley made a cake for her after dinner. She wasn't allowed to open her presents until after she'd blown out the candles and they'd finished the cake. Ron was especially helpful with that.

Finally she opened her presents. Harry got Ginny a bottle of the same expensive perfume that had caused a temporary breakup between Ron and Hermione nearly a year before. Hermione and Ron glared at the bottle. Both Harry and Ginny chose to ignore them.

Harry whispered in Ginny's ear, "The perfume has been charmed so that if you're wearing some, you have a weak shield around you that can resist a few low-level curses like 'Stupefy.' It, along with your jacket, should provide a bit of protection, but let's hope we don't need it. By the way, let me know when you're running low on the perfume, and I'll get more for you."

"Only if you'll get some cologne like that for yourself. I worry about you just as much as you worry about me." At that moment, with Molly, Ron, and Hermione in the room, Ginny kissed Harry.

When their lips met, Harry heard what sounded like Ginny's voice in his head saying, '_I love you so much, Harry!_'

'_I love you, too, Ginny!_' he thought.

After about three seconds, both of their eyes widened at the same time.

"Did you think that?" they both said at once.

-

Please review. Thank you to all of those who have.

I'll try to update this story every two weeks.

The story of the break-up is in chapters 23 and 24.


	43. Phase Three

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 43 – Phase Three**

'_Single quotes' means thoughts while "Double quotes" means spoken dialogue._

-

"What?" exclaimed both Molly and Hermione at the same time while Ron's eyes were widening.

"What do you mean, 'Did you think that?' How could you know what the other thinks?" said Ron, confused.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other. They had let go of each other after they'd read each other's mind. "I can't read your thoughts now," he said. Ron was simply staring at them.

"Maybe if you're touching," suggested Hermione excitedly. "The third phase said you could merge your minds while you share magic. The sharing of magic required that you be touching."

Molly nodded while her face turned pale. She was just trying to get used to them having a bond. Now they could share thoughts.

As Harry took Ginny's hand, Ron said, "Phase three of what?"

'Can you hear me now, Ginny?' thought Harry.

"Will someone please answer me!" shouted a red-faced Ron.

'Yes, Harry. I can hear you. It's amazing!'

'I think Ron's trying to turn every color of the rainbow,' thought Harry as Ginny giggled. 'He's been red and violet, and now he's turning blue.'

'But he skipped orange, yellow, and green.'

Harry laughed at Ginny's observation as Ron got more frustrated. They heard Hermione say, "It's their secret to tell, Ron."

"Then why don't they?"

'I guess we've got to,' said Harry.

Ginny took a deep breath. 'Okay, Harry.' She then turned to her brother. "Harry and I have a special magical bond that started when he saved my life in the Chamber of Secrets. It went into the second phase last Christmas, and now it's reached phase three, which is supposed to be the final phase." 'Your turn Harry,' she thought.

'You took the easy part!' Harry thought, and then focused back on Ron. "Er, with phase one we felt a strong connection, and also couldn't stand kissing anyone else. For phase two we could sense each other's emotions and even share them. The first time we noticed it was when Lucius Malfoy tried to get custody of me. From your house, Ginny calmed me down so I didn't throw a tantrum in the courtroom…"

"At the same time, I was throwing a tantrum at home for no apparent reason." She took a breath. "The worst time was when Harry was captured at the end of the tournament."

Ron, who was silently listening as his face turned more and more pale, said, "You were in a right state then."

'I think he's yellow now and is about to turn green,' thought Ginny, causing Harry to laugh.

"What?"

Harry cleared his throat. "Now Ginny and I can hear each other's thoughts when we're touching."

"What were you thinking that's so bloody funny?" Ron's face was now turning pink as he considered the implications of their bond.

"Nothing!" both Ginny and Harry said simultaneously.

"I see. Let's make fun of Ron. He's probably the only one in the bloody family that doesn't know about it. That's the big secret you could share with Hermione but not me!"

"Yes! We think it might be the power he doesn't know!" said Ginny.

He glared to Harry. "So my sister is some sort of weapon you're gonna throw at He-who-must-not-be-named!"

"No! It's not like that! I…"

"I thought you cared about her!" Ron started to get up.

"He does love me, you idiot!" shouted Ginny. "Haven't you been paying any attention? I can sense his feelings and read his thoughts! I can feel his love for me! He couldn't deceive me if he wanted to! This is why we didn't tell you!"

"So, with these 'shared feelings' does she feel when you're, y'know?"

Molly's face now turned red. "That is none of your business, Ronald Bilius Weasley! They told your father and me about the bond, and we're dealing with those issues! I forbid you to ask any personal questions like that to embarrass them!"

Harry, tuning that conversation out, thought, 'Now we can have a private conversation in front of everybody.'

Ginny smiled at him, keeping her mouth closed. 'I guess so.'

'We should probably start trying to become a dragon as soon as we can actually get alone.'

'Yeah.'

"You're doing it right now, aren't you?" shouted Ron. "Talking to each other, and ignoring everyone else!"

"Really Ronald," said Hermione, "They've just reached a new phase of their bond and probably want to enjoy it. I, for one, think that we've intruded upon their privacy enough! Happy birthday, Ginny. Congratulations, both of you. Good night." She got up and walked out of the room.

Ron left right after her, still mad about both the bond and being kept in the dark about the bond, not realizing that he was demonstrating the reason why they hadn't told him about it.

Molly said, "Goodnight dears. Don't stay up too late. Happy birthday, Ginny." She walked out of the room, but not so far away that she wouldn't hear if they did anything inappropriate.

'This is the best birthday gift I could ever ask for, Harry.'

'Then you don't want the present I gave you?'

'Of course I do!'

'We'd better get to bed. I love you.'

'I love you too, Harry.' She kissed him thoroughly before leaving. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Night. Have a good dream, and enjoy the rest of your birthday."

-

The next morning Harry read an interesting article on the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"_Minister Bones to Encourage Communication Between Hogwarts and the Ministry_

_By Anna Jesse_

_Today Minister Bones created a new position within the ministry. It is called 'Hogwarts Liaison.' The basic job description is relay information between the ministry and Hogwarts. One of the functions is give the students a way to express their concerns about the war and anything else to a representative of the ministry. That person in return can help assure our children that the Ministry is doing everything possible to protect them and their families. The person who has been appointed to this position has been working at the ministry for some time, and was originally appointed as under-secretary by former Minister Fudge. 'Ms. Umbridge proposed the idea to me a week ago, and it sounded like a good idea to have an open line of communication between the students and the Ministry,' said Madam Bones._

_Madam Delores Umbridge has a long history of…_"

The rest of the article praised Umbridge's accomplishments, saying what an upstanding person she was. Ginny walked up behind Harry and took a look at the picture. "Why is there a picture of a toad on the front page?"

They both shared a laugh before she kissed him good morning and then grabbed his hand. After he informed her silently about Delores' appointment, Ginny thought, 'I wonder what Dumbledore thinks of this.'

'I don't know, but I do know it's time to exercise.'

"Er, good morning guys," came Ron's voice from the doorway. They turned to see that Hermione was behind him.

"Morning Ron," said Ginny coldly while thinking, 'He has a lot of nerve…'

'Come on Ginny. Let's at least give him a chance.'

Ron looked at them nervously, and then looked at the floor. "I, um, guess I sort of overreacted last night."

"You could say that," agreed Harry.

"Er, Hermione explained it more to me."

"You mean she threatened you," said Ginny.

"Look, I'm sorry alright! She explained how this is a rare occurrence and I should be happy for you two. At least I know that Harry can't cheat on you."

"He wouldn't have anyway," said Ginny.

"I know; I know. Er, are we okay now?"

'What do you think, Harry?'

'Personally, I don't want to spend the last few weeks of the break fighting with Ron.'

Ginny took a deep breath. "Fine, we'll forgive you. Just don't ever get mad about our bond again or we'll try that magic sharing while we hex you!"

"Now that that's settled," said Hermione happily, "I believe that Harry said it's time for us to exercise."

-

Over the next few days, Harry and Ginny did their best to sneak in a few minutes per day to work on their transformation, with little success. After Sirius found out about them reaching phase three and wanting to work on the dragon, he let them practice in front of him for an hour per day (to keep Molly happy that they weren't alone together). It was still going slowly, but the day before they returned to Hogwarts the hands they were holding merged into one scaly arm for a few seconds. They were encouraged by that result, but still realized that they'd have to work on it for a while at Hogwarts.

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have. Sorry the chapter's so short, but I wanted to get them back to school.


	44. Another Year at Hogwarts

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 44 – Another Year at Hogwarts**

'_Single quotes' means thoughts while "Double quotes" means spoken dialogue._

-

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was empty and quiet at 9:25 on September 1st. The Hogwarts Express had arrived moments before. Suddenly the silence was interrupted by soft pops as two figures in auror robes appeared. Without saying a word, they separated as one walked into the train, wand out. The other had her wand out as well, as she looked around the platform, performing several detection spells. After four minutes, the other emerged from the train and nodded his head toward his partner. She pulled out what appeared to be a lighter. Once the flame was lit, she called out, "This is unit one giving a code green at the platform. Do you read me? Over."

A male voice came from the flame. "This is headquarters, unit one. We have received your code green. Open the passage while we send more security, just in case. The first portkey will arrive in one minute, and doubtless several parties will begin apparating there as well. Verify everyone's identity before they board the train, and check for the Dark Mark. Remember your orders."

"Confirmed. This is unit one signing out." The female auror closed the lighter and placed it in her pocket. She then put on a pair of glasses that could see through invisibility cloaks and other magical ways to hide. Her partner did the same. She suddenly heard a loud crash behind her and spun around, pointing her wand at the disturbance, ready for anything. She let out a breath as she saw it was three teenagers lying on the sidewalk with their trunks and a Ministry-issued portkey.

-

Harry pulled himself off the ground after his portkey ride and looked around to see Ron and Ginny doing the same. They all seemed fine as they picked up their trunks. He noticed the auror approaching them as he took Ginny's hand.

'_I wish we could have apparated,_' thought Ginny.

'_Me too, but we can't all be like Hermione,_' said Harry. A that moment, as if summoned, Hermione, Sirius, Arthur, and Molly appeared nearby with four pops.

"I still can't believe she got her license yesterday," said Ron. "Couldn't she have waited for the rest of us to take the test?"

"I heard that," said the brunette, who was walking up to them with the adults. She was already wearing her Hogwarts robes with her prefect badge attached. Harry had decided to wait until the train was about to take off (and the prefect meeting began) before putting his robes over his muggle outfit. "We were told by Professor Dumbledore to take our tests as soon as we were ready, not to wait for the others. This way I can work on other things while the three of you perfect your apparition skills at headquarters every Sunday."

"Excuse me," said the auror. "Hello, my name is Auror Phillips, and I have to verify each of your identities. Could you state your names and present a picture id?"

Deciding to get it over with quickly, Harry went first. "Hello, I'm Harry Potter. Here's my Underage Magic License."

Immediately her eyes flicked up to his famous scar and then slowly down the rest of him as her cheeks got a bit pink. His exercise had made him grow some muscle. "Mr. Potter, I heard about your duel with you-know-who in Diagon Alley. I'm glad you're on our side. I didn't know you had a magic license." She pointed her wand at his id and it glowed green for a moment, verifying its authenticity.

"We all do," he said, indicating Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. "She also has an apparition license." He pointed at his bushy-haired friend.

The auror smiled. "I was going to question her about that, but I'm afraid I must first ask you to roll up your sleeve."

After she'd visibly inspected Harry's bicep a bit longer than necessary, she moved on to Hermione, who immediately produced both licenses. "Here you go. My name's Hermione Granger. I just got the apparition one yesterday." She then rolled up he sleeves.

After both had been verified, Auror Phillips returned them. "Everything appears to be in order."

The others were checked as more students and parents arrived. Harry's group took their luggage onto the train and claimed a compartment before coming back out to spend more time with Sirius, Arthur, and Molly.

Harry was holding Ginny's hand when Molly commented, "That brooch looks very nice with the new jumper you're wearing." Ginny was wearing her dragon-leather jacket unzipped, revealing a light auburn jumper with flower patterns on it. The gold rose-shaped brooch he'd given her a year before was pinned above her heart. He agreed that it looked nice.

'_Mother's only saying she's glad I've got it on,_' thought Ginny.

'_What do you mean? Wait a minute. Weren't you wearing it when…_'

Ginny's head hung down in shame. '_I was wondering when you'd realize it. I'm sorry. It was on my jacket the day we were attacked while shopping. I'd left it at Madam Malkin's when I wanted the sleeves taken off! If I'd been wearing it, Tom wouldn't have been able to make me crucio you!_' Although she was silent, a few tears started falling from her eyes. '_So you see, it is my fault. I didn't even realize that for a few days. My mum asked me about the brooch. I'd told her how it protects from mind attacks after you gave it to me last year. She was wondering if it wasn't working properly._'

"What's wrong, Ginny-dear?" asked Molly, wondering why she'd suddenly started crying. She frowned as she looked at the joined hands.

"It's just that I hadn't told Harry my mistake yet, and now I'm caught."

Molly turned on Harry. "And what did you think that made my baby cry?"

His eyes opened wide in fear. Before he could answer, Ginny spoke up. "He hasn't thought anything yet. I started crying while I explained that it was my fault that Tom made me curse him from behind. He'd done everything he could to protect me."

"It's alright, Ginny. You're not the first person in the world to forget something." Harry continued speaking, only now it was silently, just to Ginny. '_Hermione and I managed to forget my cloak on the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the night during our first year. We got caught and ended up in detention, not to mention losing fifty points a piece._'

'_What?_' thought Ginny as she let out a snort of laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Er, nothing," said Harry nervously.

"He was just telling me about a time he forgot his Potions book and ended up in trouble with Snape in his first year."

"Oh, that was rather foolish."

'_What were you doing on the Astronomy tower with Hermione? Was there something going on that I should know about? I was under the impression that you two were just friends._'

Harry's face turned red. '_I suppose that must be what Professor McGonagall thought we were doing. No wonder she was upset!_'

At that moment, Neville Longbottom walked up to them. "Hey Harry, Ginny. How was your summer? I read about that attack at Diagon Alley. Did you really duel you-know-who?"

"The nameless one," said Harry in mock awe. "He won't say his real name and no one else will say his made-up name. To answer your question, yes I did for a minute, but it wasn't like the paper said…"

"So he didn't leave in the middle of the fight because you were winning?"

Harry blushed. "I'm sure it was…"

"Harry," said Ginny, "You are a bit too modest. I saw the whole thing! They each fired a spell at the same time and their wands locked. I can't be sure, but I think Tom wet his pants when he realized that Harry was forcing his death curse back at him." Neville gasped. "It wouldn't be the first time either. He needs to learn not to use that curse on Harry. He was so scared that he ordered a retreat."

"Ginny," said Harry. "I wish you wouldn't…"

"I am not exaggerating, Harry!" she said firmly. "What did I say that wasn't true?"

Harry's face was turning even redder. "Well…"

"Did you notice the puddle where he'd been?"

"No, but you're making it sound like…"

'_The truth,_' she thought firmly. '_Harry, I know you hate this attention, and your humility is a wonderful quality, but sometimes you sell yourself short. I've heard you talk about the Chamber. You make it sound like you killed a one-foot long non-poisonous toothless garden snake. I'm not saying you should get arrogant, but you should at least be honest._'

Neville apparently didn't notice the mental dialogue. "As far as I'm concerned, if you dueled him and lived you're a hero. You should hear my gran talk about you. She'd give anything to have you as a grandson."

"Harry," said a bold girl who was a year younger than Ginny as she walked up to them. She had large dark eyes, a prominent chin, and long black hair. "I read about how bravely you fought he-who-must-not-be-named a few weeks ago and I nearly fainted. I just knew I had to meet you. I'm sure we could become very close. I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane."

"I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley. Harry's girlfriend." The fiery redhead was imitating Romilda's mannerisms exactly. '_She wants you,_' she thought to her bondmate.

'_What?_' Harry thought back. '_Well, she'll be disappointed._' He then said, "It's good to meet you, but, well, I'm really too busy with, everything, er, like prefect duty and O.W.L.s to get to know any new friends." '_Besides, Ginny would kill us both,_' he finished silently.

'_Too right you are, Potter._'

-

It went like that for the next hour, with kid after kid walking up to him. All the girls flirted, earning glares from Ginny. She even thought a few of the boys were flirting with Harry, which made him even more uncomfortable. Finally he went into the train and put on his robes. He was relieved that Voldemort hadn't attacked. He figured that Tom knew that several aurors were present. Riddle never started a fight he wasn't absolutely certain he could win. He was far too much of a coward. Once he was properly dressed, Harry joined Hermione and they made their way to their first prefect meeting, leaving Ron and Ginny in their compartment.

-

"I wonder who Professor Slughorn chose to be the Slytherin prefects," said Hermione as she and Harry made their way toward the prefects' compartment.

"I don't know. If Prisoner Snape were still here it would probably be Malfoy."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Hermione. "Professor Dumbledore would never allow Draco to be a prefect. That's a privilege he hasn't earned and a responsibility he couldn't handle. The purpose of prefects is to keep people like Draco in line."

"I wonder if he got a new wand," said Harry, chuckling.

Hermione giggled, "I'm sure his mum got him a new one before they went home from the station last June."

"Right after she sorted him out from that hex you hit him with." Harry and Hermione both started laughing loudly until they reached their destination.

Harry found the meeting itself to be quite dull. They received instructions he'd already read (at Hermione's insistence) and a rounds schedule. They found out that Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode were the new Slytherin prefects. Blaise glared at them with disdain but didn't say anything.

-

The two new Gryffindor prefects volunteered to do rounds first on the train so that they could relax for the rest of the trip. They took note of where Malfoy and his goons were sitting but didn't bother them. About half way through the trip, they finally joined Ron and Ginny, who were now sitting with Neville and Luna.

"Hi guys," said Hermione as she sat next to Ron.

"Hello, Hermione, Harry," said Luna in her dreamy voice.

"Hi, Harry," said Ginny as he sat next to her. He put his arm around her and took her hand in his so their skin was touching.

'_Hi, Ginny. I missed you._'

'_I missed you, too._'

'_Has Malfoy come to visit, yet?_'

'_No. Ron was afraid Draco became a prefect and was at your meeting._'

Harry smiled. '_No. Zabini and Millie did._'

"Ginny," said Hermione, looking at her and Harry intently, "you've been awful quiet."

'_She's trying to say we're being too obvious,_' thought Harry.

"I was just thinking. How was the prefect meeting?"

The conversation went from there for about ten minutes until Draco and his goons did finally show up. Malfoy opened the door and strutted inside like he was important. Crabbe and Goyle, however, were looking at the six wands pointed at them and stayed outside.

"Malfoy," said Harry cheerfully, "I see you've got a new wand. I, er, accidentally broke your last one. You can only guess how, er, sorry I am about that." Draco glared at Harry.

Ron joined in the fun. "I assume you're here because you'd like Hermione to give you another lesson in transfiguration."

"I don't need that filthy mud…"

"It's no trouble at all," she said, pointing the business end of her wand straight at Draco's face. "What animal would you like to learn about this time? Perhaps a bunny?"

He paled but pretended he wasn't scared. "I don't have to listen to a filthy mu…"

"Then get out of here before we give you detention," said Harry coolly.

Ron snorted. "They can give you lines. You'll write, 'I must not be a dragon's behind,' a million times." Everyone laughed at that, but none harder than Luna Lovegood.

Ginny thought, '_I wonder what Ron would say if he knew you are a dragon's behind._'

'_Shut up!_' thought Harry, although he did start laughing louder.

Draco's face was already pink when Luna exclaimed between snorts of laughter, "Dragon's behind! Draco means dragon! I wonder if Malfoy means behind!"

"It doesn't, you…" shouted a red-faced Draco.

"Maybe not," said Hermione, "but your family's all-important status has fallen behind since it came out that your dad's a FILTHY murderer!"

"Don't you dare say…Agghhh!" At that moment, Ginny hit him with a bat bogey hex from hell. He ran out of the compartment, past his two bodyguards, who followed after him.

"I guess maybe Crabbe and Goyle are smarter than Malfoy," said Harry contemplatively.

"Ginny," said Hermione, "you shouldn't have done that! Especially in front of two prefects!"

Harry looked at his girlfriend with a very serious expression. "I hereby sentence you to detention in a broom closet for an hour. I'll personally supervise it." Everyone but Ron burst out laughing. He looked like he wanted to, but wouldn't let himself because of his brotherly instinct. Instead he silently buried his face in his hands.

"There are a lot of girls who would like that detention," said Luna.

"Are you sure that only one detention is enough, Mr. Potter," said Ginny in mock penitence. "I think my crime was so horrible it earned at least two weeks of that punishment."

Harry scratched his chin, as though thinking it over. "You may have a point, but I think your infraction of the rules has earned you thirty days of that detention."

Hermione finally calmed herself down from laughing. "As funny as that joke may be, you shouldn't go around cursing…"

"You're the one who hexed him last time!" snapped Ginny. "All the sudden, just because you're a prefect now…"

"I'm not saying that it's wrong to hex that slimeball," said Hermione with an evil grin, "but could you please do it when my back is turned?"

"Noted for future reference," Ginny said as she started giggling uncontrollably.

-

The others soon changed into their robes, and soon they reached the Hogsmeade station and soon Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were on a carriage being pulled by an invisible creature. A few minutes after they mounted the carriages, Harry noticed a few people standing just outside Hogwarts' gates. He squinted to see more clearly. "Isn't that Dumbledore and Madam Bones with that toad-shaped woman…what's her name? The liaison or something."

"Madam Delores Umbridge," said Hermione, "The Ministry liaison."

As they got closer, they noticed Dumbledore's wand trained on Umbridge. "Minister Bones, there is only one reason why the castle won't let Madam Umbridge inside the gate. It's a new ward that I added this summer at Mr. Potter's suggestion."

"And what ward is that?" asked Umbridge, looking venomous.

"I'd like to know myself," said Bones.

At that moment, the carriage containing Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson, which was just ahead of Harry's, began moving through the gates. It got past the front until the seats were even with the gates.

Suddenly the carriage stopped as though it had hit into a brick wall. Some kind of cry was heard from the invisible thestral. Malfoy shouted, "Ahh! What's happening?" as his feet kept hitting into an invisible barrier that none of the other passengers could see.

Dumbledore lowered his head for a moment in sorrow. He glanced at the next carriage, which had stopped for the moment. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, would you mind dismounting your carriage and joining us?"

"Of course, sir," said Harry, as they both got up.

When they reached him, Dumbledore said, "Miss Granger, would you mind keeping your wand trained on Mr. Malfoy, while Mr. Potter keeps his wand trained on Madam Umbridge. If either tries to leave, stun them or use whatever force is necessary to prevent their escaping."

"Professor Dumbledore," said Bones, "What is the meaning of this?"

"It will become plain in a moment, Minister."

The two prefects did as they were told as Dumbledore walked over to the area in front of the carriage. After the headmaster handled some sort of creature Harry couldn't see, the carriage moved backward. "Mr. Malfoy, please come here."

Looking rather nervous, Draco complied, although Hermione noticed that his hand was on his new wand. The carriages began walking again.

"Stand next to Ms. Umbridge. Madam Bones, I suggest you pull out your wand."

She did as she was asked. "Now, Professor Dumbledore, please tell me what's going on."

"The ward Mr. Potter suggested I add to the castle's defenses right after Voldemort returned is very simple. It does not allow a person with the Dark Mark to pass."

Amelia, Hermione, and Harry gasped. Draco and Delores looked livid. Albus shot a disarming curse at each of them, followed up with another spell. This caused the arms of their robes to fall off, revealing the most feared symbol in Europe on Umbridge, but not Malfoy, who smirked.

"You see, Professor. No Dark Mark. Now let me in the school before my father…"

Dumbledore looked Malfoy straight in the eyes with a rarely seen anger. "Your illusion may have fooled the aurors at the station, but it didn't fool the wards here." He pointed his wand at Draco's arm, and nothing happened. Albus smiled. "Ingenious. Although I wonder how your father, not to mention your master, would feel about you using muggle methods to hide your mark." He conjured a wet sponge and rubbed it over Draco's arm. Makeup soon came off it, revealing that Voldemort had indeed branded another one of his animals.

"My father will hear about this! When the Dark Lord takes over you'll pay for it!"

"As I understand it, Mr. Malfoy, Voldemort doesn't take well to failures," said Minister Bones coldly, causing Draco to wince. "Even if you were to escape, at the very minimum he'd torture you worse than he does muggles. Although it's much more likely he'll simply kill you." Draco paled.

While Minister Bones called aurors with her portable floo lighter (that only allowed verbal communication – not travel), Draco and Umbridge were bound magically in ropes and stunned.

As Harry and Hermione walked toward the castle, he said, "I almost wish Draco had given us trouble. It would have given me an excuse to hex him."

"I'm just surprised that he marked such a young Death Eater."

"He's the same age Tom was when he opened the Chamber. Evil doesn't have a particular age requirement, and Draco was evil from the first time I met him."

She nodded her head. "He probably had a mission he was supposed to accomplish at Hogwarts. V-Voldemort won't be pleased."

He grinned. "How terrible for him." He then put on a more serious expression. "I wonder why Crabbe and Goyle aren't marked."

"Probably because of how thick they both are." They both chuckled at that as they made their way into the castle.

-

When the two entered the Great Hall, they saw that their significant others had saved them seats. The sorting had not yet occurred. They sat down and Ron asked, "What happened out there?"

Harry grinned. "Both Madam…"

At that moment, Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting hat on a stool and everyone quieted down.

-

After the sorting and Dumbledore's (who'd quietly entered during the sorting) admonishment to "Tuck in," Harry and Hermione explained to Ron and Ginny what had occurred outside. When the plates had cleared, the Headmaster went to his podium to give his real speech.

"Welcome to another year of Hogwarts. There have been a few slight changes in the Ministry's plans for this year. Madam Umbridge was unexpectedly detained, and will be unable to join us as the Ministry's liaison. Minister Bones sends her regrets, and has assured me that she'll find a suitable replacement within the week."

'_Maybe Tom can suggest someone else,_' thought Ginny sarcastically as she held Harry's hand.

'_Ginny, Bones was just as surprised as we were. It was a mistake. I'm sure she'll be more careful._'

'_It's just a good thing you suggested that ward. Imagine what a Death Eater could do with Ministry authority in this school!_'

'_Actually, I'd suggested putting wards like that around Hermione's house before her parents went into hiding. Dumbledore took the idea from there._'

Albus continued his speech. "Young Mr. Malfoy has elected not to attend school this year, to be closer to his father."

The quartet's faces went completely red as they fought the desire to burst out laughing at that.

Harry thought, '_I guess he's getting a cell near his dad, then._'

'_It's good for families to be close. I wonder if Mrs. Malfoy will be joining them soon._'

Dumbledore continued. "As Professor Moody has elected to move back into retirement, there is also a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Everyone welcome Professor Shacklebolt. He is an experienced auror on loan from the ministry for this year."

Everyone clapped as the African Professor waved at them. The quartet obviously recognized him as a member of the Order. After the Headmaster mentioned a few other announcements, such as Filch's ever-growing list of banned items (Ginny commented that Filch probably wishes he could ban wands), they were dismissed.

Harry sighed and looked at Hermione. "I suppose we've got to lead the first-years to the common room."

"Of course, Harry." She then turned to the others. "The password is Mimbulus mimbletonia."

Harry looked around the table and said in a loud voice, "Gryffindor first-years! Come here."

Ron commented, "I'm glad you have to lead the midgets around and not me, mate," as he and Ginny walked off.

As the first-years were gathering the prefects, Kingsley Shacklebolt walked up to them. "Hey, guys."

"Hi Professor," said Hermione. "Why didn't you tell us?"

He grinned broadly. "It's easier to surprise someone if they're not warned." He turned to Harry. "I'll bet you and Ron thought you'd escaped my boxing lessons."

Harry visibly gulped. "Er, no, of course not."

He chuckled. "Well, I'll be helping all four of you training. It'll help me keep in shape as well. We'll train for an hour – that's thirty minutes of exercise and thirty minutes of dueling (muggle or magical, depending on what day it is) – every morning Monday through Saturday, and then on Sunday, you four will go to headquarters for other training. Oh, and Dumbledore showed me the most incredible room that will be perfect for our training. It's called the Room of Requirement. All four of you meet me tomorrow morning at six in my office and I'll show it to you."

Harry's face paled. "Six?" he repeated.

"Of course. Breakfast starts at seven, and then we'll all be busy for the rest of the day with classes and homework," said Hermione. "We'll be there."

"Good." Kingsley walked off and the prefects led the first-years to Gryffindor Tower.

-

"He's out of his bloody mind!" shouted Ron, once Harry had told him and Ginny about Shacklebolt's schedule.

"There's no way I'm getting up that early!" agreed Ginny.

"Then when do you think we should train?" asked Hermione.

Both Ron and Ginny looked down at the floor silently.

Harry said, "I'll have Quidditch practice a few nights a week. Ron, I know you wanted to try out for the team, too."

"I'll bet you'll make it with that Firebolt," said Hermione.

"Too bad there aren't any openings for a Chaser," commented Ginny.

Ron yawned loudly. "If we're getting up that early, I'm going to bed now. Good night, Hermione." Ron then kissed his girlfriend. "G'Night, Ginny, Harry." He then went up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"I think I'll turn in as well," said Hermione. "Goodnight."

Harry looked into Ginny's eyes as he held her hands in his. "Alone at last."

'_Do you think we should sneak out and try our transformation?_' she asked silently.

'_Not tonight,_' he thought.

'_What about my detention?_' she thought seductively.

Harry chuckled out loud for a moment. '_As tempting as that is, I want to see how tired I am tomorrow morning before I start letting you seduce me into sneaking out at night._'

'_I seduce you?_'

'_Good. You admit it._' He kissed her passionately and then let her go. "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you, too, Harry."

They both walked up to their respective dormitories, knowing that they had a busy day tomorrow.

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have.

In HBP, on the train ride, Blaise Zabini shows just as much prejudice as Draco, saying "I wouldn't touch a filthy blood traitor (referring to Ginny) like her whatever she looked like." He also showed contempt for Harry (even when Draco wasn't around at the Slug Club meeting on the train) before then. I'm certain he'd hate a 'mudblood' like Hermione as well.


	45. Practice, Practice, Practice

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 45 – Practice, Practice, Practice**

'_Single quotes' means thoughts while "Double quotes" means spoken dialogue._

-

"One day, I'm gonna kill Shacklebolt," muttered Harry as his wand started beeping at 5:30 a.m. He pulled it out from under his pillow (where he'd started keeping it since the attack in Diagon Alley) and said, "Finite!" ending the timer charm he'd set the previous evening. He shook his tired head as he slowly got out of bed to find Ron pulling back his bed curtains.

"I don't know how, but I'm gonna beat Kingsley the next time we box!"

Harry quietly chuckled at his friend. "A Galleon says he'll beat you in one round."

-

After they'd showered and met the equally tired girls downstairs, they made their way to Professor Shacklebolt's new office, where they found him wide awake.

"Good morning, everyone!" he said cheerfully. "Follow me to the most awesome room in this whole castle!"

They followed him until he said, "Wait here for a minute." Harry thought it was very strange the way the auror paced three times in front of a painting until he saw a door appear on the opposite wall. He suddenly was wide awake. "Come on in. Welcome to the Room of Requirement!"

Harry stepped into the room and saw a huge gymnasium. "I didn't know Hogwarts had a gym," he commented.

Grinning ear to ear, the African said, "It didn't until a few seconds ago. This room is whatever you need it to be." He proceeded to explain how the room worked before telling them to start running laps for the next ten minutes. To Harry's surprise, Kingsley joined them. Harry realized that Shacklebolt had said he wanted to stay in shape.

After the jogging was over, a boxing ring, as well as a place for the girls to practice karate, appeared. Harry and Ron spared a few minutes until Kingsley decided to fight each of them (individually) to evaluate them. True to Harry's prediction, Ron was down before the first round was over, and was thankful he hadn't accepted Harry's bet. Harry didn't fair much better against his trainer.

They did some exercises after that, and then worked on dueling for a while. Finally, Shacklebolt handed them each a switchblade and demonstrated it, making sure they each understood the operation. Each had been charmed to stay sharp, and to never open accidentally. He told the teenagers to keep them always in invisible ankle holsters he gave them, reminding them that Dumbledore had suggested concealed weapons. He informed them that eventually they'd have a few other weapons, but first they needed to learn proper knife fighting, which he'd teach them for the next few weeks.

-

Exhausted and sore, they'd barely sat down to breakfast when a tall, black girl with long, braided hair marched up to Harry, who was sitting next to his girlfriend holding her hand.

"Hi, Angelina."

"Hi," she said briskly, "good summer?" And without waiting for an answer, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Nice one," said Harry, grinning at her; he thought to Ginny, '_I'll bet her pep talks won't be as long-winded as Oliver's._'

"Congratulations," said Ginny, forcing herself not to smile at Harry's thought, afraid Angelina Johnson would think she was being laughed at.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper and two Beaters. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new people'll fit in."

"Will I have to try out?"

She grinned. "No, you're on the team. I'm just trying to fill the open positions." She sighed. "I don't know why Fred and George had to drop out the year I'm captain."

"They got their joke shop started. That's what they wanted to do after school, anyway, so why wait when they had a great opportunity?" said Ginny.

"Whatever. I hope they do well, but how am I gonna find a couple Beaters half as good as them?"

"That is a problem," agreed Ginny.

"Maybe you can be a Beater, Ginny," said Harry with a smirk. "You can slap hard enough."

"Do you really want me to get a Beater's bat?" she asked, batting her eyebrows at her boyfriend. He gulped. "No thanks. I'd try out for Chaser…" then she winked at Harry, "…maybe even Seeker, but not Beater."

"It might not be a bad idea to have a few reserve players," said Angelina thoughtfully. "I think I will have tryouts for every position and pick a few extra players in case someone on the team gets sick."

"Or in detention," added Ginny.

-

The week went by quickly, and soon the teenagers started to get a bit used to being up that early. Harry and Ginny fitted the 'broom closet detention' in after lessons on the second day of class, and they started using the Honeydukes secret passage to work on their dragon form every other day. They didn't know it, but Ron and Hermione were using the same place for their Animagus practice, only on different days and times. Kingsley had warned them that he used the Room of Requirement a lot, so they decided not to risk being caught half-transformed (or snogging for that matter) by their professor and have to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions.

Kingsley's D.A.D.A. classes were really great. He was teaching practical defense, saying that, "With Voldemort and his Death Eaters out there, this is a lot more important than just your grades." He ended up using Harry, Ron, and Hermione in turn to demonstrate different spells that he knew they'd learned over the summer. Toward the end of the first class, he had Harry and Hermione duel.

They bowed and took a dueling stance, but neither fired a spell for the first ten seconds. Each was waiting for the other. Harry decided to start it, knowing from experience that he'd have to be clever to beat his brilliant friend. Wishing he'd learned silent spellcasting, Harry whispered, "Accio desk," summoning an empty desk that was directly behind Hermione.

Unfortunately for Harry, the bushy-haired girl heard the chair moving behind her and jumped to the left, casting a spell at Harry, who found himself being dragged to her by his right foot. "Finite!" he shouted just before he fell on his backside. He was on the floor, but was no longer being dragged, so he rolled out of the way as a stupefy hex hit the spot he'd been at moments before.

He started rapidly firing hexes at her as he moved around, causing her to stay on the defensive as he tried to work out a plan. Finally something occurred to him that might work.

Aiming his wand elsewhere, he whispered, "Aguamenti,"

Hermione had moved from where she'd been standing without paying attention to her opponent's hex – just knowing to get out of the way – when she heard Ron shout, "Bloody Hell, Harry!"

"What?!" she screamed, distracted for about one second while looking at her boyfriend's drenched hair, which was long enough.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry cast his spell, causing her wand to fly out of her hand into his.

Kingsley announced Potter as the winner. The class laughed and clapped as Harry walked up and handed Hermione her wand. She glared at him for a moment before giving him a small smile. "Good match." The professor had them shake hands before taking their seats.

Kingsley got back up in front of the class. "Does anybody know why I'm not punishing Mr. Potter for casting a spell at Mr. Weasley?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were the only three who raised their hands.

After a moment, Shacklebolt picked, "Mr. Weasley."

"Because, well, that's one of the things Death Eaters do, er, to distract you. They'll hurt your friends and family to play mind games on you."

"Exactly. Mr. Potter knew that Miss Granger would want to see what he'd done to Mr. Weasley." After hearing the rest of the class' catcalls (while both Ron and Hermione blushed), Kingsley added, "Mr. Potter also had the advantage that Miss Weasley isn't in this class, and therefore was safely away from Miss Granger so she couldn't use the same tactic on him." Now Harry blushed.

Harry thought about when he'd heard Ginny scream as a spell hit her arm, but he forced himself to concentrate, knowing that getting himself hexed wouldn't help her for the last few minutes of class.

-

Friday's Quidditch trials were an unusual occurrence. Harry himself hadn't tried out for the team when he became a member, and as far as he could recall, he'd been the last new player on the team. It was weird to have almost half the team gone.

He watched the different Keepers try out first. If he were honest with himself, Ron's tryout wasn't fabulous. He seemed a bit nervous, and it made him appear clumsy. However, the Firebolt he was on allowed him to move fast enough that he did manage to block the goals most of the time, if not catch the Quaffle. Both Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper flew better than Ron had, but neither had a Firebolt – not to mention that Geoffrey was a whiner that nobody would want on their team. Vicky was involved in several clubs, but was asked to be on the reserve team and make whatever practices she could between her other activities after promising that if she was needed on actual game days, she would play.

Most of the Beaters were idiots who couldn't hit a Bludger to save their lives. One of them hit the Quaffle instead, right into Angelina's stomach. In the end, Angelina picked Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper. Harry knew that neither was brilliant like the Weasley twins, but at least they could tell the Bludgers from the Snitch. The captain reluctantly picked out the least idiotic boy from the other hopefuls to be a reserve player, hoping that he'd improve if he came to enough practices.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he watched Ginny try out and succeed at becoming a reserve Chaser, even managing to get the Quaffle past her brother. She whispered something to Angelina, who announced that Ginny was also trying out for reserve Seeker.

Harry's eyes bulged out as his girlfriend flew over to him. "Surprised," she asked with a smirk. He didn't have time to respond because at that moment, the Snitch was released.

He immediately went into Seeker mode, flying overhead with his eyes scanning everywhere around the pitch. He was pleased to note that Ginny wasn't stupid enough to follow him around. She'd obviously seen enough games to know that he'd have her doing all kinds of dives just to keep her distracted. After about ten minutes, he saw the Snitch and smiled. He frowned when he noticed that his opponent had seen it too, and was closer. He pushed his Firebolt for all it was worth, and they both arrived at the Snitch at the same moment.

"Together, on three," he said as he reached out his hand. "One." She nodded at him, so both their hands went for the golden winged ball. "Two." Harry didn't close his hand around it, planning on them catching it between them when Ginny winked at him and grabbed the Snitch from where it was, touching his palm and sticking her tongue out at him, and flying to the ground without a word.

As Harry heard laughter coming from the others, especially Ron, he called out, "You cheater! You agreed to catch it together! You…"

"Just admit your girlfriend beat you," said Katie Bell with a smirk.

Andrew Kirke suggested, "Maybe Harry should be our reserve Seeker," which caused her to fly up to him with a red, angry, face.

"He did get to the Snitch before I did and suggested we catch it together. I simply caught it as a joke. I know he's better than me."

Harry flew to the two of them. "I guess I learned my lesson – never trust another Seeker, no matter who it is." He then looked at Ginny. "I need to put you in detention again."

"Yes, Prefect," she said submissively fighting off laughter.

Angelina flew up to them both. "Well, Ginny, you've made the reserve team as both a Chaser and a Seeker. Hopefully we won't need both at the same time."

-

The rest of the week went by quickly, and they got to spend Sunday training at Grimmauld Place. For Harry, Ron, and Ginny, that meant practicing apparition with Padfoot and Moony. For Hermione (who'd already gotten her license) it meant apparating around the house while carrying animals of different sizes to learn to side-along apparate, a rare but useful version of that method of traveling that required an extra license.

They hadn't originally planned on learning that, but Lupin thought it would be a great skill for them to have, and Albus agreed. Hermione had splinched a gerbil in her first attempt, and it had taken an hour for her to calm down enough to try again. However, the gerbil in question wouldn't stay still in Hermione's hands after it had been put back together, so Remus had to banish that one and conjure another one. Ron commented that it's too bad he didn't still have Scabbers for her to practice with. It would be fun to splinch him and leave him like that.

At the end of that day, Remus said, "Harry, I think you're ready for the test. I'll try to schedule you some time this week. Professor Dumbledore already told me that he will allow each of you to miss a class for your apparition tests, since they're only given during the same hours that you have classes at Hogwarts."

"That's great, Harry!" said Ginny happily, giving him a quick kiss.

"Yes it is," agreed Hermione enthusiastically. "It's too bad I'm only up to apparating small animals so I can't go with you." She'd managed to succeed with the second gerbil and Lupin thought it was enough for the day.

"At least you've got a license," said Ron miserably. He'd left his eyebrows behind the last time he tried.

-

The next morning, a middle-aged woman with short brown hair wearing light blue robes was introduced by Dumbledore at breakfast. "This is our new Ministry Liaison, Madam Theresa Reece." He then told everyone the location of her office, and explained that she was there to help the students understand what the Ministry was doing, and to address their concerns and questions.

"At least we know she doesn't have the Dark Mark," commented Ron.

-

A few days later, when the Daily Prophet arrived during breakfast, there was an article that said that four Ministry employees had been caught being Death Eaters. It contained no details about how they were apprehended – only that they were marked and would be tried the next week. Minister Bones had pushed through a law that stated that just having a Dark Mark would earn ten years in Azkaban. The closed trials would be held with veritaserum. Officially they were to make certain that the mark wasn't forced on them – unofficially it was to see if they could provide names of other Death Eaters and any plans they knew about.

While Harry was reading Neville's copy (he didn't subscribe), Hedwig flew to Harry with a small note. While the snowy owl was eating a piece of Harry's bacon, he and Ginny were reading the note.

"_Harry,_

_Mr. Lupin has informed me that you have an appointment tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. to take your apparition test at the Ministry of Magic. You are therefore excused from attending your History of Magic class and will be escorted by Professor Shacklebolt, who doesn't have a lesson at that time. You will both floo directly from my office to the Ministry at approximately 2:00._

_I just thought you might find it gratifying to know that the same method used to apprehend Mr. Malfoy and Madam Umbridge was implemented at the Ministry of Magic. It was responsible for yesterday's arrests. Madam Bones sends her thanks for the suggestion._

_Headmaster Dumbledore_"

Ginny turned to her boyfriend. "Why didn't they do that years ago?"

"Do what?" asked Hermione, who was sitting with Ron across from them.

"Here," said Harry as he passed her the note and she shared it with Ron. He turned to his girlfriend and held her hand, thinking, '_Because it's hard to bribe someone if you can't get in the building!_'

Ginny burst out laughing for a moment before she stopped herself. People nearby who didn't know about their bond wondered what Harry had done under the table that caused his girlfriend to laugh like that, but didn't comment.

"You get out of Binns' class tomorrow. Lucky you!" said Ron. "I hope that's what I miss when I take that test."

"Harry was referring to the second paragraph, Ronald. At least the Ministry is doing it now," said Hermione, knowing that the new ward at the Ministry building shouldn't be common knowledge, so she didn't directly speak of it in a public place like the Great Hall. "Should I banish the note, Harry?"

He nodded, "Might as well."

-

There were no problems with getting to the Ministry for Harry and Kingsley. Harry easily got his apparition license, although he had to show his underage magic license before he could take the test. He managed to convince Shacklebolt to apparate to Hogsmeade with him instead of flooing. From there, they walked up to the castle with no problems.

-

The Sunday after that, Lupin was pleased to announce that both Ron and Ginny were ready for their Apparition test after a long day of practice. Much to Hermione's consternation, Harry was having no problems at all in Side-Along-ing animals. He started with a gerbil – which he got right on the first try - and then moved on for the entire day with bigger animals while Hermione was barely managing to keep up. As they were leaving, Moony mentioned that next Sunday both of them would try apparating another human.

-

Remus was correct, and the two youngest Weasleys both got their licenses. Ginny did miss one of Binns' lessons for the test, but Ron had to miss D.A.D.A. class for his test. They were escorted by Professor Flitwick. The same day that they got their licenses, Harry talked to both Weasleys in private. "Next week is Hermione's birthday, so I thought we should have a surprise party like last year." He looked at Hermione's boyfriend, who was nodding, although with a small frown on his face. "Although this year, Ron, I'm not gonna help you with her gift."

Please review. Thank you to all who have.

I'm sorry it took so long for me to post this. I'll try to get the next chapter up more quickly.


	46. Surprise

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 46 – Surprise**

A few days later, Harry and Ginny were on their way to the Honeydukes secret passage to practice their dragon transformations. They were walking hand-in-hand.

'_Do you think Hermione will like the present I bought her?_' asked Harry silently.

'_She'd better. I helped you pick it out.'_

'_What do you think Ron's gonna get Hermione?'_

'_Probably some cheap perfume,' _answered Ginny.

'_I don't know. I think that he'll avoid perfume at all costs after last year.'_

'_You may be right.'_ Ginny sighed. _'Do you think there is a fourth phase to our bond?'_

Harry stopped and looked at her. _'I don't know. I do know that the closer I get to you, the more I love you, and the happier I am.'_

'_Good answer.'_

'_I thought so,'_ Harry answered with a grin. He pulled his original wand out of its holster and pointed it at the one-eyed witch. "Dissendium."

The passage was opened and they entered it. Before they'd taken more than a few steps, they began to hear talking.

"I can't believe it, Ron. I've always enjoyed riding horses when I could, and now I'll find out what it's like to be one!"

"I'll bet its mane was really bushy."

"If you must know, it was a bit bushier than most horses," Hermione huffed.

"What kind of horse are you?" asked Harry, startling his friends.

"Oh, Harry, Ginny. You gave me a fright," said Hermione. "We just did our Animagus mediations. I'm a brown and white palomino."

"Really? They're gorgeous!" said Ginny. "So, Ron, what are you?"

"I'm a St. Bernard, but my brown fur is a bit reddish. Not so that I look weird or anything," he said defensively. "What are you here for? Sneaking off to Honeydukes?"

"They'd better not be," said Hermione. "Harry's a prefect."

"Don't worry, Hermione," said Harry, "We weren't planning on leaving the school."

"Then why are you here? Were all the broom cupboards occupied?" asked Ron.

"If you must know, we were going to work on our bond," said Ginny.

"But you've already reached level three," said Hermione, "and you can silently communicate. What do you need to practice that requires this much privacy?"

Harry took Ginny's hand. _'Should we tell them?'_

'_I don't know, Harry. What do you think?'_

'_Well, we originally decided not to tell them so they wouldn't know we were animagi. Now they know that.'_

'_Do we have a real reason to keep this a secret from them anymore?'_

"I know what you're doing," said Ron. "You're deciding what to tell us. Coming up with a story to cover up your real reason for being here."

"Actually, dear brother, we were deciding whether or not to answer your question, and probably would have. However, you've made up our mind for us. Goodbye, Ron."

As she and Harry turned around, Hermione called after them, "Ginny, Harry, I'm sure Ron didn't mean to accuse you of anything inappropriate." She turned to glare at her boyfriend. "Did you?"

He glared back at Hermione for a moment before his eyes lowered. Not looking anyone in the eyes, Ron said, "Of course not. I didn't mean it."

"The sincerity in that apology really touched me, Ron," said Harry sarcastically.

"I almost cried," added Ginny.

"What do you want from me, guys? You won't tell me anything, so I have to guess what you're up to all the time."

'_He might possibly have a point,'_ thought Harry.

'_You really want to tell them, don't you?'_

Harry sighed. _'I think I do.'_

'_Alright then. You tell them.'_

Harry took a deep breath. "Well, the thing is, when we did the Animagus meditation, we each saw something beside the animal we've learned to turn into."

"Another form?" asked Hermione with her eyes wide. "I've never read about that before."

"Sort of," said Harry. "You see, we were holding hands at the time and saw…er…parts of an animal. Ginny saw the head and I saw the body."

"A combined form? Wow. I guess it's because of the bond. Maybe the magic feels that together you're a different entity, so it's a different animal. That must be difficult to learn…which is why you want to practice."

"What is the other form?" asked Ron.

'_Why don't you tell him, Gin? I handled the hard part.'_

'_Fine.'_ "It's a Hungarian Horntail."

"What?" asked both Ron and Hermione at the same time.

"I, I suppose a magical creature might be possible when you combine the magic of two people…but that's amazing."

"It will be when we can do it," said Harry.

"How far along are you?"

'_Let's show them.'_

Still holding their hands, Harry and Ginny moved closer to each other and closed their eyes. Their hands merged into one scaly arm, and then their skin turned reptile-like but still human shaped. Harry's feet turned into dragon feet, but stayed human-sized. Ginny's face took on the features of a dragon, including a snout and fangs, but was still human-sized like Harry. This process took about thirty seconds. They were able to hold it for about ten seconds before they reverted back to normal, looking exhausted and panting heavily.

"Wow. That looks like good progress," said Hermione.

"Bloody hell," said Ron. "You really are gonna be a Horntail." He then chuckled and looked at Harry. "I guess that means you're a dragon's behind."

-

That Sunday, the quartet arrived at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place very nervous. Harry and Hermione were nervous that each of them was going to attempt to side-along apparate a human. Ron and Ginny were nervous that they might be the test subjects.

"Hello everyone," said Lupin happily.

"Hi," said Harry along with the others.

Sirius then walked into the room and greeted them as well.

After congratulating the Weasley siblings on getting their apparition licenses, Remus began the lesson. "Well, since Harry and Hermione are going to attempt to side-along a human, I should explain a slight difference between apparating wizards, muggles, and animals. Both animals and muggles have no knowledge of apparition and as such, can't help in the process. A witch or wizard might have knowledge of apparition, and therefore can assist with the spell. The reason they would do this is if they don't know where they're going, so essentially they're following the other person. That's the easiest way, and I'm going to start Harry and Hermione doing that for each other while Ron and Ginny begin with gerbils."

"So we won't be their test subjects?" asked Ron in relief.

"No." He then conjured a pair of gerbils and handed one to each redhead and told them to start practicing in another room.

Turning back to the others, Remus continued. "I believe we'll have Harry try first. This time, Hermione, when you feel him apparating, will yourself to go with him. After that, switch. That shouldn't be too difficult for either of you and I don't expect difficulties. Assuming I'm correct, we'll move on to the more difficult procedure. Go ahead, Harry. Choose anywhere in this house and don't say it out loud. If Hermione knows where you're going, she may inadvertently go there herself without your help."

Harry closed his eyes for a moment while deciding which room to enter. He thought his bedroom would be too obvious, so he picked the kitchen. He was just beginning to apparate when he felt extreme distress coming from Ginny. Harry and Hermione disappeared with a pop and appeared in front of Ginny. They were not in the kitchen.

The youngest Weasley was holding part of a gerbil that had been splinched. She had its head, neck, and torso. Its limbs were lying on the floor on the other side of the room. The gerbil was obviously terrified and Ginny was anguished.

"I didn't mean it," she said to the victim that couldn't understand her.

"We might as well vanish it and make a new one," said Sirius as he started doing so.

"It's alright, Ginny," said Hermione. "I did the same thing my first time." She turned to Harry. "How did you bring us exactly in front of Ginny?"

"I didn't mean to. I was going to go to the kitchen, but I felt Ginny's panic at the last second and…"

"You reflexively came here instead. I wonder if you two can go anywhere the other is, provided there are no wards to prevent it."

Ginny, who wanted something to distract her, said, "Only one way to find out. Follow me." She disappeared with a soft 'pop.'

Looking at Hermione, Harry asked, "Do you want to come along?"

"Why not?"

Harry focused on Ginny's emotions and followed them to their source. The pair of them appeared in front of a delighted Ginny. "Now let's see if I can do it."

Harry turned to Hermione. "Now you take us somewhere."

Hermione popped them both to the room they started in with no problems. A few seconds later, Ginny appeared in front of Harry. "There's no place you can go that I can't find you."

Remus didn't understand what that meant, but before he could ask, Ginny disappeared and Hermione said, "We both did it. Now what do we do?"

Remus instructed the 'passengers' to concentrate on anything but apparition. Hermione was mentally listing the ingredients of Polyjuice potion when they disappeared.

-

Hermione knew right away that something was wrong. Her head somehow felt lighter and cold. Harry looked at her, and for a moment, it appeared that he was going to burst out laughing. He quickly regained his composure and looked penitent. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I, er, left your hair behind."

"WHAT?" she screamed as she put her hands on her bald head.

-

After Harry left Hermione alone and collected her hair, he brought it back and she unsplinched herself (simply apparate while holding the hair and concentrate on reappearing correctly). Harry was very nervous when it was Hermione's turn to apparate him.

With a wicked grin, Hermione said, "I wonder if Ginny will miss the part of you I leave behind," one second before disappearing.

Nervously, Harry put his hands on every part of him when he reappeared, trying to make sure all his parts were still intact. To his surprise, he was fine. Even Remus was impressed. "Great job, Hermione. Do you think you're daring enough to let Harry have another go?"

She looked at Harry as though calculating the risks. "I suppose one more time. But if I get splinched again, that's it."

Harry held his friend's arm tightly and concentrated as hard as he could on apparating everything, including her hair. With a small 'pop,' they appeared on the other side of that room completely intact. They practiced several more times with no incidents, and Remus promised them both a chance at their licenses the next week. Ron and Ginny both managed to apparate with the gerbils, and were working on monkeys when it was time to leave.

-

A few days later, Harry woke up the closest he could come to happy that early in the morning. There were three things he was looking forward to that day. One was going to get his Side-Along apparition license with Hermione (they were missing charms and were going with Professor McGonagall, who was free at that time). Another was that today was Hermione's birthday, and they were surprising her with a party after dinner. The third reason was about to begin.

After the first switchblade lesson with Kingsley, he'd suggested that they go through Harry's pensieve lessons on the subject that Sirius had bought as a supplement to his teaching. Yesterday, Shacklebolt had said they were good enough with them that they only needed to practice once a week. He'd told them to go through the first handgun pensieve lesson the night before, and that he'd be giving them each a pistol that morning and would begin lessons.

Realizing that the best way to make sure the surprise victim suspects something is to not acknowledge their birthday, Harry, Ginny, and Ron all made it a point to wish Hermione a happy birthday as they made their way to the Room of Requirement. Hermione was very pleased that Ron had remembered.

-

"This weapon is just as dangerous as the most deadly curse, and I want you to take it seriously. Do not point this gun at anybody unless your life is in danger! I want to be very clear on this. This is a last resort weapon. You'll carry it in this holster and keep it loaded and ready to fire. The holster will make sure the gun can't be fired while inside it and is invisible to all and undetectable to muggle metal detectors, just like the knives' holsters. Is all that clear?"

After they'd all answered in the affirmative, he began teaching them about guns.

-

Both Harry and Hermione passed the side-along-apparition test later in the day, and before they knew it, dinner was ending.

"So," said Hermione expectantly, "are we going someplace before we turn in?"

Harry was holding Ginny's hand when she thought, _'She's expecting a party, but doesn't know where it'll be.'_

'_We could lead her on a wild goose chase through the castle. Or…I've got it.'_ Harry then spoke. "Not until we go for our rounds."

"But no one's allowed out after curfew."

"Except the prefects who have to patrol the halls, the staff, and anybody the staff allows to be out."

Her face lit up for a moment and then she frowned. "But the staff wouldn't…well, Kingsley might, but you shouldn't have…"

"What?" asked Harry, looking confused.

"Never mind," she said. "Maybe I should go to the library until then."

"No. You shouldn't go to the library on your birthday. Ron, Ginny, and I haven't given you our gifts yet." Hermione smiled.

'_You see, you get them to expect a very small thing, and then surprise them with a big party,'_ thought Harry.

They slowly walked into Gryffindor tower together until Hermione gave the password to the Fat Lady. It opened and she walked inside.

"SURPRISE!!!" shouted almost every Gryffindor in the school, almost giving the bushy-haired prefect a heart attack. Once she realized what was happening, she smiled brightly and looked around.

The whole common room seemed to be decorated for her birthday with streamers and 'Happy Birthday' and 'Sweet Sixteen' signs. There were even magical fireworks going off above their heads. She saw one table filled with cake and butterbeer and another full of presents. She turned to Harry, Ron, and Ginny, who were behind her grinning ear to ear.

"You arranged all this?" They nodded. "And all of them kept it secret and wanted to…"

She was interrupted by several of the Gryffindors walking up to her and wishing her a happy birthday.

The party was a huge success, and Hermione had a great time. She got several gifts; mostly candy (which she thought was funny for the daughter of two dentists) but others gave her bookmarks, quills, or ink. Harry bought her a special stationary set. Ginny got her a wizarding romance novel. Ron got her a silver necklace with an open-book shaped gem hanging from it.

"Do you like it?" asked Ron.

"I love it," she answered, and then kissed him before walking off with Harry to do prefect rounds.

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have.

Sorry I took so long to update.

Would you be too disappointed if I don't include the Horcruxes in this story? I've dealt with them in several already, and would prefer not to deal with them in this story. (I know it's my story, but I do care about my readers' opinions.) Also, if I've made any references to Horcruxes in the story (aside from the diary) let me know. I don't think I have.


	47. A Pleasant Trip to Hogsmeade

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 47 – A Pleasant Trip to Hogsmeade**

The weeks went by quickly after Hermione's birthday. Ron and Ginny both got their licenses in Side-Along Apparition. Quidditch practice, as well as the quartet's other training, was progressing well. It was now late October, and the day of the first Hogsmeade visit of the year.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione boarded a thestral-drawn carriage, the couples sitting together, Harry and Ginny (as usual) holding hands. Ginny was wearing her dragon hide jacket, and her brooch was on her shirt beneath it. She was wearing some of the special perfume Harry had given her. Harry was wearing his dragon leather vest and some cologne that protects from minor hexes like the perfume he'd given Ginny for her birthday. Harry had insisted on spraying some of his cologne on Ron, and Ginny had done the same with Hermione before they left.

"I'm surprised that Dumbledore let us go to Hogsmeade," said Ron.

"We talked about it at the last prefect meeting," said Hermione. "There are several aurors stationed there today, and the prefects have been given emergency portkeys to the hospital wing to distribute in the unlikely case of an attack."

"Why didn't you tell us about it before now?" said Ron, and then looked at his sister, "And why doesn't Ginny look surprised?"

Harry looked at Ron funny. "We were told not to frighten people by letting them know about the portkeys; and how on earth do you expect me to keep a secret from Ginny?"

"Must be nice to date someone who doesn't keep secrets," he grumbled, looking at Ginny.

"Who knows, maybe one day Hermione will save you from a big spider and you can get a bond like ours," Ginny answered.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcastically.

"We're here," said Hermione. The carriage stopped and they got off. "Remember Harry and Ginny, we meet at the Three Broomsticks at noon."

They nodded and the two couples went their separate ways. As Harry and Ginny walked toward Honeydukes, they heard their friends arguing about whether to start at the Quidditch supply store or the bookstore.

'_Those two will never change,_' thought Harry amusedly.

'_I was surprised about his comment on our bond. I wonder if he's jealous._'

'_I wouldn't blame him if he is,_' thought Harry. '_This bond with you is the best thing that ever happened to me._'

'_Me, too._' Ginny squeezed his hand tighter. "We're here. Now you can buy me a box of chocolates."

Chuckling, they walked hand-in-hand into the famous candy shop, where Ginny persuaded Harry to lighten his money sack significantly. He then took her to the flower shop, where he bought her a dozen yellow roses. They visited several other shops, nodding at the aurors they walked past, shrinking down their packages as they went so that everything but the flowers (which Ginny was carrying) was in one bag in Harry's possession. They walked around the village slowly, talking both verbally and nonverbally, as they enjoyed the day together.

"It's been awhile since we've made up poems about each other," said Harry, "and I've been thinking up a new one."

She smiled as her face turned slightly pink. "Have you?"

"Yes."

"Then let's hear it," she giggled.

"Your eyes are as brown

As dark caramel

Your hair is as red

As a fresh-picked apple

Our bond is my life

Want you for my wife

Without you I think I'm in Hell."

The fourteen-year-old girl gazed into Harry's eyes when he got to the line about being his wife and continued staring at him silently.

Harry nervously cleared his throat. "Well, er, I know we're young, and um, that's not an official proposal with a ring. I'm planning to wait a few years for that. But I think we both know that with our bond we will one day get married. I just want to say that I want that more than anything. It's not something I feel forced to do. Just holding your hand is a privilege. Being bonded with you is a…blessing I could never deserve. I can't imagine not being with you. I love you."

Ginny blinked back tears that threatened to start falling down her cheeks. "I love you, too; and I unofficially accept your unofficial proposal, and look forward to the official one – when it's time. I don't remember how I ever lived without you in my life, and don't want to be reminded." She moved her face toward his and puckered her lips.

"BOOM!!!"

Their lips hadn't met before they heard a loud noise nearby. They looked around to see that a giant had just hit what used to be the entrance to the Three Broomsticks with his club. A nearby auror was running toward the giant until she was hit from behind by a green light. Both teenagers pulled out their wands instantly while the young woman fell lifeless to the ground.

"Reducto!" Harry shouted as he aimed his wand at the source of the death curse. He didn't see anyone there, but knew all about ways to be invisible.

He heard the sound of his blast hitting someone and saw an arm become visible and fall to the ground while blood seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Ginny fired a, "Reducto!" where the murderer's chest would be and a female wearing a Death Eater uniform appeared and fell on her back, dead.

"Crucio!" Harry heard a man's voice shout just before he fell in agony.

As Harry writhed on the ground he heard the same voice shout, "Tell the Dark Lord I've got Pot…"

The pain ended as Harry watched the man's wand hand blown off his arm by Ginny's spell. As he got up, he noticed several firefights happening all over. He couldn't count how many Death Eaters were nearby, fighting students and aurors. He could also see at least five giants.

He was about to start fighting another enemy when Ginny shouted, "Remember your prefect duties!"

Harry dodged a curse as he shouted, "Stay with me!" He blasted toward the latest foe but didn't wait to see if they were hit. He and Ginny ran into the Three Broomsticks, which no longer had a door.

What they saw wasn't a pretty sight. A giant was inside and had apparently wrecked almost all the tables and chairs as he walked toward the students huddled in a far corner. His back was to the new arrivals. Harry saw five students lying on the ground, unconscious or worse. He pulled a length of rope out of his pockets and put it in Ginny's hand, leaving his hand to linger on hers.

'_I'll distract the giant. You get to those students, summon the unconscious ones, and make sure they all grab the portkey and then activate it with your wand. I'd ask you to leave with them if I thought you would._'

'_At least you no better than to ask. Be careful._'

'_You too._'

They separated and Ginny ran toward the huddled students. The noise obviously got the giant's attention, since he turned around and roared at the redhead while shaking his club threateningly.

Harry shouted, "Reducto!" and landed a hit on the right side of the giant's face. If it had been human, it would have been fatal. However, the spell resistance of the giant's thick skin reduced the effect down to the equivalent of being hit with a small stone. However, the blast did have its desired outcome. The giant turned its attention on Harry as a red sore appeared on its cheek.

-

At the same time, Ron and Hermione were just outside Honeydukes. They'd been nearby when the attack occurred, and they both knew it would be full of kids. Ron was stopping Death Eaters from getting inside while Hermione gathered the children and sent them back to the castle with one of her portkeys. She figured it was faster than the secret passage, and it wouldn't be a good idea to let so many kids know about it anyway. Once they had disappeared, Hermione joined her boyfriend in time to see evil incarnate silently appear and begin walking toward the Three Broomsticks. Hermione hoped she was wrong about her guess about why Voldemort was headed toward the pub. After barely dodging a death curse, she turned her attention back to the other attackers, hoping Harry would be alright, and wondering if Ginny was still with him and had not gotten separated in the chaos.

-

Ginny reached the students quickly and pointed her wand toward the fallen. "Accio students." Although she was concerned that moving them could be dangerous, she realized that leaving them there was even more hazardous to their health.

While the five summoned victims were headed toward them, a third year girl asked, "Is that Harry Potter?"

Ginny grinned briefly as she watched Harry skillfully injuring the giant from afar while carefully avoiding its club. "Yes, and this is a portkey that will take you all back to Hogwarts." She gave them one end of the rope. "All of you grab hold of it." They all complied, and Ginny tied the other end around each of the unconscious, but still breathing victims. Making sure she wasn't touching the robe with her skin, she put the tip of her wand on the portkey. "Activate."

A moment later, Ginny, Harry, and the giant were the only occupants of the room. She shot a, "Reducto!" at the monster's heal at the same moment Harry did the same to its head. The giant collapsed to the floor.

Harry pointed his wand at the club their enemy had just dropped. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The club floated to the ceiling right above the giant's head under Potter's direction. The Chosen One moved his hand down fast, releasing the club to fall hard onto the fallen giant's head. It was now out cold. They breathed a sigh of relieve for a moment until Harry's scar began to prickle.

Harry pulled out the new wand he'd gotten from Ollivander and turned around quickly to see his nemesis' red eyes staring toward him.

"Avada Kadavra!" Harry dove to the ground as a green beam of light shot toward his former location. "Hello, Harry," hissed the vile creature.

"Hi, Tommy-boy." Ginny could feel how terrified Harry really was, but knew that he wouldn't give Riddle the satisfaction of seeing the fear.

"Don't call me that! Crucio!"

Harry barely managed to move away in time, but got a powerful, "Reducto!" out that managed to scrape Tom's left arm. He now had a good gash near his elbow. Too bad Harry had been aiming at Riddle's chest.

Wordlessly, a purple beam shot out of Voldemort's wand and hit Harry's right foot, slicing it and causing him to yell out in pain.

"Crucio!" Tom shouted, seeing his advantage. Harry was unable to move out of the way this time and was writhing on the floor in pain.

"Reducto!" shouted Ginny, who'd been silently watching, hoping for a moment like this when she could provide surprise help. It had been difficult to think while feeling some of Harry's pain, but she was determined to help him this time. The beam made direct contact with Riddle's wand hand, knocking off two fingers and causing him to drop his wand, ending the torture curse on Harry.

Tom turned in fury to see who his assailant was as he wandlessly summoned his wand to his left hand. Harry was still recovering from his ordeal. "Miss Weasley, I see you wanted to do the honors. If I'd known you were here, I would've allowed it." He then attempted to possess her again. Ginny felt her brooch heat up slightly on her shirt as rage began to show once more on Tom's ugly face. "What have you done? How!" His face calmed down again. "Crucio!" Now Ginny was on the ground. A smile spread across Tom's face as he shouted. "O'Mally! Get in here and take the Weasley slut away and have some fun, but bring her back to headquarters alive! Ahhhh!"

When Harry was released from his torture curse, it had taken him a minute to stop shaking badly and realize what was going on. He'd dropped his wand, so he pulled out his gun. His hand was still a bit shaky, but he aimed it at Voldemort and fired, hitting Tom's leg, causing him to fall.

As a masked Death Eater walked into the remains of the Three Broomsticks, he saw the girl shaking on the floor and grabbed her, apparating them both away.

-

The fighting in the streets was ferocious, but Ron and Hermione had managed to avoid getting more than a few scratches since they were mostly rescuing kids that were hiding from the magical terrorists. By now several of the faculty had joined the fray and the tide had turned. They'd seen McGonagall take down a giant as well as a few Death Eaters. Flitwick was winning a duel against five of the masked terrorists. Suddenly the remaining Death Eaters stopped and disappeared noiselessly after muttering something, quite obviously activating portkeys.

"Come on, Ron. I think Harry's in the Three Broomsticks with V-Voldemort."

-

Harry, still on the ground, felt Ginny's terror and knew what was about to happen, and he also saw that Voldemort was on the ground. For a moment he didn't know what to do. Riddle shot an orange beam at Harry, pulling him out of his stupor in time to dodge and Harry shot his right shoulder. Riddle hissed, "Activate C," and disappeared.

Harry frantically searched for his wand, finding it as his two best friends appeared in the doorway. He stood up limply as he decided to do something he never thought he'd do – ask for help. "Ron, Hermione! They've got Ginny! I can apparate one of you with me! Hurry!"

Both his friends moved toward him until Ron said, "She's my sister! I'm going!" and grabbed Harry's arm.

Hermione thought of suggesting trying all three of them, but knew it would be disastrous if they ended up splinched. She whispered, "Be careful," as they disappeared with two small pops.

-

"This will be fun!" said O'Malley as he tortured Ginny on the floor of his house. Even though it wasn't secure like headquarters, he preferred the privacy for now. He was a recent recruit and was excited to enjoy the spoils of war. He had Ginny's new wand in his pocket, and in his enthusiasm he didn't check her for other weapons. "I'd better let it up before you lose your mind. It's no fun if they don't know what's happening." He then levitated her trembling, but angry body to his bed.

Ginny's mind went through her different options, and she made her decision while the Death Eater undressed himself. She pulled out her original wand out of its holster with a trembling hand and aimed it at her attacker.

"Where did you get that?" the now terrified man shouted as he looked up from his pile of clothes. His wand was in his pants pocket, and he was caught literally with his pants down.

Using both hands to steady her original wand, Ginny shouted, "Reducto!" and hit O'Malley square in the chest with a powerful blast, putting a hole through his body. He was dead before he hit the ground as his insides spread out on the floor.

At that moment, two pops sounded together and she pointed her wand at the new arrivals to see it was, "Harry! Ron!" She ran into their arms crying.

"I guess you took care of things," commented Harry as he looked at the corpse on the floor. He was immensely relieved to see that she was alright. He took a deep breath. "Let's get out of here."

-

They got Ginny's new wand as well as O'Malley's before they left via portkey and landed in the hospital wing. All the beds were filled, and they found out that Madam Pomfrey was using a few nearby classrooms to tend to other wounded.

In total, twenty-one students would have to stay at least one night under her care (Harry's foot was healed quickly and he didn't have to spend the night there). Six students were killed. Three aurors were killed. Five auror were injured. Thirteen Death Eaters were killed, and another twelve were captured. Ten giants were overpowered and taken to a special prison that Minister Bones had built after the giants refused to negotiate for peace.

Hermione had found Ginny's bouquet and the bag Harry had been carrying in the Three Broomsticks, and brought them back to the castle. A few of the roses were stepped on, but were easily fixed with magic. The bag was completely untouched by the battle.

The next day, while Harry was in Dumbledore's office reporting to the headmaster about his part in the battle, he said, "If that coward hadn't gotten away, I could have killed him! I need to be able to stop him from escaping!"

"Based off of what you've told me, he probably has several portkeys on his person at all times, and you would have to put up a ward against portkeys, which is rather difficult to do, especially in the middle of a battle. I will look into other options. However, I don't believe that you could have killed him yesterday."

Harry looked offended. "I was winning, sir!"

"Let me rephrase. Even though you most likely would have prevailed in that fight, I don't believe he was capable of dying at that time."

Now Harry was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Harry, Voldemort has been obsessed with immortality for over half a century, and has studied it a great deal. When he was sixteen, he split his soul and created what is known as a Horcrux, which at the time made it impossible for him to die. That is one of the reasons he didn't die when you received your scar. Fortunately, that particular object has been destroyed."

Harry put his hand down after realizing that he'd touched his scar when it had been mentioned. "You were able to destroy that Horcrux thing, then?"

"No, my boy, you were," answered the headmaster with a twinkle in his eyes, "over two years ago."

He looked confused for a moment, until comprehension dawned on him. "The diary?"

Albus nodded. "The diary."

"Well, er, that was destroyed. But what's to stop him from making another one? How do we know he hasn't?"

"He did try to make another Horcrux once, out of a ring that once belonged to Salazar Slytherin. He nearly died from it, and ended up with no powers for a month. He, of course, didn't inform his followers, but a few guessed and soon learned the dangers associated with a muggle pistol. Once he'd gained his powers back, he was able to determine that after all that, he had failed to create a new Horcrux. A soul can't be split like that more than once."

"But you said he couldn't have died yesterday, but the diary's gone."

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm afraid so. The limited intelligence I've been able to gather leads me to believe that now, every time he's going to leave the safety of his headquarters, he goes through a ritual that grants him approximately twelve hours of immortality just in case he receives a fatal wound.

"This ritual involves capturing a muggle and using a perversion of the soul bond with him. If Tom's body is killed during those twelve hours, his spirit will possess that victim, and he has made preparations to make that body magical and more suited to his purposes. If Tom's body isn't killed, the victim dies from the strain the ritual puts on him within thirteen hours."

Harry wanted to be ill. "He, he kills someone new every time he leaves his home?"

"I'm afraid so. Therefore the only ways to kill him would be to either surprise him before he has performed the ritual or to somehow capture and hold him for twelve hours."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I didn't expect him to attack so soon. I am…"

"Sorry? Look, I'm the one who has to kill him! Wouldn't you think it would help if I knew how?" He was getting angry and beginning to yell, but soon felt a soothing emotion coming from Ginny. "Well, this is a lot to take in. You already know what happened after Voldemort escaped so I don't think you need to hear that again. Can I be excused?"

"Of course. I understand that this is a lot of information to absorb at once. I shall look into ways to stop Tom from using his portkeys."

-

A few minutes later, a pale-looking prefect with green eyes and black, uncontrollable hair walked into the Gryffindor common room and took his girlfriend's hand. '_Ginny, I just found out something about Tom's diary that Dumbledore never bothered to tell us._'

Please review. Thank you for all the reviews I've gotten.

I know I took the easy way out of the diary's explanation, but I hope you like the way Tom has his immortality now.


	48. Gryffindor Versus Slytherin

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 48 – Gryffindor Versus Slytherin**

If anyone had been watching Harry and Ginny, they would have been greeted by a strange sight. They were sitting together in an abandoned classroom holding hands without speaking, yet every few seconds one of them would show a facial reaction as though they'd just been told something surprising. The girl's face was beginning to match her hair color.

'_So our headmaster didn't think it was necessary to let me know that I was possessed by an actual piece of that monster's soul instead of just a cleverly charmed diary!_'

'_Apparently not,_' answered Harry silently. '_He does so enjoy his secrets._'

'_But that's not the worst of it! I can't believe he didn't tell you that Voldemort can't die! You could have been killed fighting him for no reason! Maybe Dumbledore doesn't care but I do!_'

'_I guess he didn't think I'd be…_'

'_He didn't think at all! How many times have you already faced him?_'

'_Far too many. What disgusts me most is that his new path to immortality is based off of the soul bond! How can someone twist a love-based bond into cold blooded murder?_'

'_I don't want to understand him. What I want to understand is what Dumbledore expected to gain by keeping you uninformed. I want to give him a piece of my mind!_'

'_I don't think that'll accomplish anything. I want to talk about what happened to you. I know you managed to overpower that guy, but I think we should talk about it._'

'_I don…do…don't…do think that's necessary,_' Ginny thought.

Harry smirked. '_I think you're forgetting that we can't lie to each other when we're talking like this._'

'_Git._' She tapped him lightly on the shoulder with her free hand. She giggled. '_I guess that's the truth – you are a git._'

'_Sometimes. But right now I'm trying to be your closest friend. I know you're bothered by what happened and I sincerely want to help._'

'_That pig thought he was entitled do whatever he wanted to do to me! He enjoyed using the cruciatus on me just as much as Tom! People talk so much about how evil Voldemort is, but his followers are just as bad! He…he told me the only reason he didn't torture me into insanity was because he wanted me to know what was happening when he raped me! He levitated me onto his bed while I was still trembling from the cruciatus and started stripping! I realized the idiot didn't search me for any other weapons besides the one wand and I…I killed him._' Tears started to fall down her pale cheeks as Harry squeezed her hand tighter and draped his free hand around her.

'_You did what you had to do and I'm proud of you._'

'_I've never killed before that day. And his…insides were all over everywhere. I'm a killer. I killed someone else earlier that day. I've killed two people!_'

'_You were defending yourself! Look at me. You did what you had to do. You did not start the fight. We'll probably have to kill again before the war's over, and I'll have to kill Voldemort himself. Will that make me a murderer?_'

'_No, but it's hard to think about it. I took two people's lives._'

'_That's the difference between us and them. They kill people for sport. They enjoy it. We only kill to save lives. I don't know what else to say, except that I love you._'

She smiled at him. '_I love you, too._'

'_We should get back to the common room._'

'_But won't people be suspicious if we don't look like we've been snogging?_' Ginny thought as she put her arms around her bond-mate and moved her face toward him.

-

Harry and his friends were saddened that any students were killed, but were grateful that none of them were close friends of theirs. When Harry thought to Ginny that it was too bad Crabbe and Goyle weren't victims she silently scolded him. Neville had been injured in his leg but only spent one night in the hospital wing.

Katie Bell was injured worse because of a curse to her torso. She was still in the hospital wing, but was expected to fully recover. Unfortunately for her, she would be unable to play in the Quidditch game that was scheduled for the next week. This meant that Ginny would be one of the Chasers.

-

On the day of the match, Ginny was torn between being excited to have her Quidditch debut and guilty about that because of the circumstances. She was walking toward the pitch holding Harry's hand. Ron was with them since he was going to be Keeper. He was very nervous. They were all carrying their brooms.

'_You heard what Katie told you yesterday. Just enjoy the game. She even talked Madam Pomfrey into letting her watch it._'

"You're doing it again, aren't you?" whispered Ron.

"So what if we are?" hissed Ginny, "It's none of your business."

"People will notice, and I think you guys want to keep it a secret."

"I suppose you're right. Are you two excited about the game?" asked Harry.

"Absolutely! I can't wait to get on my broom!"

"Er, yeah," Ron said shakily.

"I'll bet the Slytherins will be surprised when they see you've got a Firebolt!" said Harry.

"Um hmm," said Ron eloquently as his ears turned red. "They-they'll all expect me to fly like you, Harry."

"They'll expect you to stay near the hoops," said Ginny, "not fly all over the pitch!"

"I'm sure you'll both do great," said Harry.

"I suppose so," said Ron miserably, and they continued walking silently.

'_Harry,_' thought Ginny.

'_Yeah?_'

'_I thought this was sort of a special occasion, so I came up with a new poem._'

Harry grinned as they continued walking. '_Oh?_'

'_His eyes are always looking for the Snitch_

_His hair is messy, like he fell in a ditch_

_He flies like a blur_

_He's my star Seeker_

_Love to fly with him on the pitch!_'

'_That was beautiful!_' Harry chuckled.

"You're still doing it," said Ron irritated.

-

"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of this season! I'm Lee Jordan your commentator and we're about to witness the struggle between good and evil…Sorry, Professor McGonagall…I mean between Gryffindor and Slytherin! Both teams have new players making their debut, so it should be an interesting match."

The players in red started flying onto the pitch.

"The Gryffindors are flying out first, starting with Chaser and Captain – The lovely Angelina Johnson – it's too bad she won't go out with me. Sorry, Professor. Next is Chaser Alicia Spinnet, followed by Ginny Weasley making her debut as Chaser. Good luck, Ginny. Next are the two new Beaters - Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper replacing the legendary Weasley twins. Next up is the new Keeper – Ron Weasley. At least we've still got two Weasleys out here! And finally Harry Potter – the best Seeker in the school! Sorry, Professor but it's the truth."

As three-fourths of the crowd finished cheering the Gryffindors, the Slytherins began approaching.

"And here are the Slytherins. In the front we have the Captain and Chaser – Montague. Next is Chaser Warrington, followed by Chaser Adrian Pucey. Next are the new Beaters, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Keeper Miles Bletchley is next followed by the newly reinstated Seeker Terrence Higgs who was kicked off the team when Malfoy the Death Eater bought his way on a few years ago. Sorry, Professor."

After the captains shook hands in a meaningless gesture to pretend they're friends, the game began. Johnson got the Quaffle first and headed toward the Slytherin goal. When Crabbe hit a Bludger at her, she passed the red ball to Ginny so she wouldn't drop it. It ended up being unnecessary because the Bludger missed her by several feet.

The youngest Weasley zigzagged around in a random pattern so no one could steal the Quaffle from her and quickly approached the hoops. The bulky Keeper was grinning at her as though daring her to shoot. She flew in the direction of the right hoop and prepared to shoot. Just as she predicted, Bletchley moved in that direction. Ginny passed the Quaffle behind her back to Alicia, who was waiting, and she shot it straight though the left hoop in a play they'd practiced several times.

"Spinnet scores with an assist from Weasley to get the first goal of the game," shouted Lee excitedly.

The game went on with the Gryffindor Chasers dominating the pitch. Ginny scored the next two goals personally. After a successful steal from Spinnet, Montague finally approached a nervous Ron with the Quaffle. The crowd was silent as the redhead faced his first challenge of the game. The Slytherin Captain/Chaser threw the Quaffle toward the hoop farthest from Ron. He shot off toward it on his broom, not knowing if it was fast enough or not. However, the Firebolt was considered the fastest broom in the world for a reason. At the last second, the Quaffle hit Ron in the gut, but he managed to catch it while he was winded.

"And Ron Weasley has caught the Quaffle! Take that, Montague! Sorry, Professor." The crowd cheered for the Gryffindor Keeper, but none more loudly than Hermione.

Ron stayed there grinning like a drunk for about five seconds before he realized he needed to do something. He looked around and saw that his sister was open, so he threw it to her and the game resumed.

-

Harry was having trouble concentrating on the Snitch as he happily watched the two youngest Weasleys live up to their family name. Angelina had already yelled at him once to pay attention and keep moving. The score was now ninety to zero, which inspired the Slytherins to try playing dirtier than usual. So far his team had avoided injuries, mainly due to the poor aim of the new Beaters. However, Harry knew it would only be a matter of time before someone was hurt. If he could only see the Snitch!

As if in answer to a prayer, the tiny winged ball appeared, but it was near the ground on the opposite side of the pitch – much closer to Higgs. Upon glancing at the opposing Seeker, he surmised that he hadn't spotted the Snitch yet. Potter realized he had only one chance. He dove straight down at a Nimbus 2000's top speed.

"It looks like Harry Potter has seen the Snitch, and it's right beneath him. Higgs has noticed the descent and is flying toward Potter's destination! Potter's not slowing down, folks! If this was any other Seeker I'd believe he was going to crash. Higgs is getting closer and…What? It looks like he faked Higgs out! When the Slytherin Seeker was mere feet from him, Harry turned to fly along the ground straight toward the side Higgs came from, leaving him in his dust!"

Everyone but the Slytherins was on their feet cheering as Higgs slowed down and turned his broom to follow the Firebolt that was halfway to the Snitch that he finally saw. He swore loudly and pushed his Nimbus 2001 for everything it was worth, for all the good it would do.

"Notice how much faster Harry is going now on his Firebolt! He was obviously going as slow as he could to give Higgs time to get to the wrong side. Potter's reaching out his hand, and…he's closing it." After a few seconds wherein Harry raised his fist in victory, "HE'S GOT THE SNITCH!!! SLYTHERIN HAS BEEN SKUNKED!!! TWO HUNDRED FORTY TO NOTHING!!!" Lee was now jumping up and down in excitement, and he wasn't the only one. Hermione was cheering loudly next to Katie, Lavender, Parvati, Neville, Dean, and Seamus.

Needless to say, there was a party in Gryffindor Tower that night!

Please review. Thank to those who have.

I figured without Malfoy to write 'Weasley is Our King,' Ron might have overcome his nerves, especially on a Firebolt.


	49. The Blue Rose

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 49 – The Blue Rose**

The next several weeks passed quickly as many Gryffindors gloated to the Slytherins about how badly they'd been beaten. The Slytherins seemed very subdued. Professor Slughorn had made the Slytherin Quidditch team double their practices in an effort to stop this humiliation from ever happening again. Katie had been very proud of how well Ginny did in the game.

Classes continued to be increasingly difficult, with the homework load increasing almost daily, especially for those in their O.W.L. year. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny continued their training with Kingsley Shacklebolt, as well as their Animagus training.

In early December, both Hermione and Ron managed the full transformation into their palomino horse and St. Bernard dog forms respectively, and on the same day. Harry and Ginny suspected that Hermione had already achieved it privately but waited to reveal it to Ron until he'd managed his form, but they didn't say anything because of how excited Ron was.

The other three spent the next week trying to convince Hermione to sneak out into the forest some night to run around in their animal forms like the Marauders did on a full moon, but she flat out refused, saying that, "I learned this for survival, not for fun, and certainly not to risk my life in the Forbidden Forest for no reason!" Harry and Ginny decided to wait until the spring to try convincing her again.

The bonded couple was getting much closer to becoming a dragon. They could combine and hold the form of an animal with human legs (Harry's) and a dragon upper body, although its head had a mane of auburn hair on it. Small wings were even beginning to sprout out of its back. It did not have a tail and couldn't fly, but it did breathe fire. The time they could hold the form, as well as its size, was slowly increasing every time they practiced. They were now actually too big to practice in the cramped Honeydukes passage anymore, and were currently using a large abandoned classroom. Harry had considered suggesting the Chamber of Secrets because of its size, but didn't want to bring that up until it became absolutely necessary.

The more Harry and Ginny practiced their transformation, the closer they became, and every week or so, Harry could have sworn he heard a thought from Ginny when she wasn't in the room. When he'd told her about it, she admitted to having the same feeling.

There had been no actual news about Voldemort, which worried Harry. He knew that Riddle had taken several losses lately, but most of his inner circle was still at large. Bellatrix, Rudolphus, and Rabastan LeStrange; Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Severus Snape, Sebastian Avery, Walden MacNair, Vincent Crabbe Sr. and Lucius Malfoy had all escaped Azkaban in the summer when the Dementors defected. Of those, only Rabastan and Avery had been killed during the Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade attacks respectively. Wormtail and Goyle Sr. were killed when Voldemort rose. All the other Death Eaters that had been killed or captured were either new recruits or previously unknown. Draco and Umbridge were in Azkaban with the other captured Death Eaters.

There had been rumors of Voldemort recruiting more dark creatures, but no substantial evidence had thus far been brought forward.

-

One evening, about a week before school let out for Christmas break, all the students and faculty were sitting in the Great Hall having dinner. At the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ginny were sitting across from Ron and Hermione. A white speck appeared near the ceiling at the entrance to the hall that owls normally used during breakfast to bring mail.

The speck kept moving forward, and soon it could be identified as a snowy owl, but not just any owl. It was Hedwig, and she was carrying a package. She flew not to Harry, but to Ginny, who grabbed Harry's hand while several other girls watched in envy.

'_What's this?_'

'_What's what?_'

'_What have you sent me?_'

'_There's only one way to find out, isn't there?_' Harry smiled at his girlfriend as she tore the weird wrapping to reveal a dozen roses, but not red like most boyfriends send. The blooms were a light blue at the top, but darkening toward the bottom, where they connect to the stem.

"Blue roses?" said Ginny out loud. "They're beautiful." She sniffed them. "But why did you get them?"

"Do I need a reason?" he asked with a slightly surprised look on his face.

"That's so romantic," said Hermione, causing Ron's ears to turn pink. "I wish _other_ boyfriends would buy flowers for no reason." Ron wisely kept his mouth shut, but he obviously wasn't too pleased. Harry knew that he was increasing the standard that Hogwarts boyfriends were measured by and several of the other guys had complained to him.

Ginny took one of the roses and stuck it on the front of Harry's robe with a charm before placing another one behind her left ear. She didn't notice other animals flying into the Great Hall. She quickly kissed him before speaking. "I also love it that you don't just stick with red roses. That would get boring. You gave me yellow roses last time. You've also given me…"

"What's going on?" asked Hermione, pointing at the thirty-one small creatures flying into the hall. "Those aren't owls."

"THEY'RE BATS!!!" yelled a Hufflepuff girl, "VAMPIRE BATS!"

Mass chaos immediately broke out as the students in unison stood up. Some, like Harry and his friends, pulled out their wands, but most began to run for the doors, only to be stopped as thirty of the bats transformed into a small army of the undead, strategically placed to block all the exits. Nobody noticed the solitary bat flying away toward the castle's entrance.

Twenty of the fleeing students stopped suddenly under the enchanting gaze of a vampire and slowly walked toward them; girls toward male vampires and boys toward female ones. Harry noticed that Colin Creevey was among those hypnotized, but before he could do anything about it, one of the male vampires had grabbed his shoulder.

Harry's boxing lessons took over as he put his wand in his left hand, and with his right hand delivered a knock-out punch to the dark creature who didn't know what hit him as he fell unconscious. Nobody had probably ever punched him before. He noticed Ron punch another one while their girlfriends were using their karate. Several staff members, including Shacklebolt, were also fighting the undead creatures. Other students were using spells, but Harry knew that vampires were highly resistant to most magic. He punched another one just as he heard Dumbledore's voice shout, "Lumos Solarus!" just before a blinding light filled the room. Harry closed his eyes as he heard several high-pitched screeches of terror.

The light held for about ten seconds before the screams ended and Harry could tell that the light had faded. He blinked a few times as he took in the sight of the hall. All the vampires were on the floor and looked as if they were decaying. He felt a lump in his throat as he saw Colin lying next to what used to be a beautiful vampire. He had fresh bite marks on his neck and Harry could see black decay that started from that spot spreading over his body. He heard the fourth-year boy mutter, "Better to die as a human than live as a…" His body stopped moving before he could finish that sentence.

He saw Dennis Creevey run toward his now dead brother and hurried over to him. "Colin!" the twelve-year-old screamed as tears began falling from his eyes.

"Dennis," said Harry as he put a hand on his shoulder.

The boy turned to see who'd touched him, and a look of hatred came on his face. "He thought that YOU could save him from anything! He believed in you, but look what it got him!" He wrenched his shoulder away from Harry and marched off, leaving the Boy-Who-Lived staring after him.

However, Gryffindor's star Seeker didn't have time to think about that, or the other dozen dead students near Colin, because from behind him he heard a pair of wings flapping, as well as several loud footsteps. He turned to see a lone bat leading six mountain trolls into the hall. In pure angry reflex, Harry pointed his wand at the bat and shouted, "REDUCTO!" The bat was shattered into a million pieces.

As Harry aimed his wand at one of the trolls, he noticed a chill run down his spine, and with a knot in his stomach he realized what was coming next. Without waiting for confirmation, he aimed his wand toward the doorway and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" sending, to his astonishment, a cheetah instead of a stag at the fifteen Dementors that had finally shown themselves.

Three of them turned back, but the other dozen made it into the room as it got colder and he could hear a faint memory of Ginny holding him under the cruciatus curse. He fought that image away and cast another Patronus, only then realizing that his cheetah was being joined by several others. His friends had all learned the Patronus spell during the summer once the Dementors defected, and that was the last time he'd practiced the spell.

He recognized Hermione's otter, Ron's terrier, and even Dumbledore's phoenix he'd seen once, but he didn't see Ginny's fox anywhere. He did, however, notice a wolf that looked just like his single Animagus form. Despite the presence of Dementors, he grinned as he realized his new cheetah looked just like Ginny's single form as he shot another one out of his wand. Their forms had changed when they reached phase three. He felt the same happy feeling he was experiencing come from Ginny, and they turned to share a smile for one moment before turning their full concentration back to the battle.

The Dementors were fleeing at every exit in the castle, so Harry was able to focus his concentration on finishing off the trolls. He looked around to see all but one of them on the ground. Hagrid was standing over one of them, holding its club. The troll was obviously dead with a cracked skull, among other injuries. Hagrid himself had a few bruises and a black eye. Harry noticed five students lying on the ground unconscious, possibly dead, with Madam Pomfrey checking one of them out.

Harry shot a reducto at the last troll's head, only to find that Luna Lovegood had done the same thing. Both spells hit the poor troll at the same time, causing its now headless corpse to fall to the ground.

Dumbledore chose that moment to make an announcement. There was no twinkle in his eye. "Attention, everyone. All the trolls are dead, and the Dementors have fled, so it should be safe in this room." The Headmaster closed his eyes in concentration a moment before every door and window in the Great Hall shut in unison except one – the way outside.

"I believe that the main attacking force is outside the walls of this castle, and will go out to meet it. When I leave, every way in and out of this room will be shut so that nothing but a ghost will be able to enter this room.

"I now ask for most of the staff and every able-bodied student fourth-year and above who wishes to fight for his or her freedom to join me. Do not do so lightly, for I expect this to be a costly battle and people on both sides will die. Follow me if you wish to join the battle." He turned and walked out of the room.

Without hesitation, Minerva, Flitwick, Hagrid, Shacklebolt, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Padma, and about a hundred others began marching after Albus. Some, like Slughorn, chose to stay behind because they didn't feel they'd be useful in the fight, and would do better to guard the younger students. Others, like Crabbe and Goyle, didn't join because they wanted Voldemort to win, and noticed that Harry was looking straight at them, daring them to try betraying them.

Once everyone who was joining the battle was in the hallway, that door closed with a thud. Harry said, "I've got an idea," as he pulled out his wand. "Let's have an air squadron. Accio, broom," and as an afterthought, "and vest!"

Ginny summoned her broom and dragon hide jacket while Ron, Dean, Cho Chang, Madam Hooch, and about twenty others summoned their brooms. Fawkes appeared in front of Dumbledore, who conjured a piece of parchment and pulled a muggle pen out of his pocket. "They're much more convenient than quills," he commented with a twinkle in his eye when he noticed several people staring at him. He quickly scribbled a note on the parchment and gave it to Fawkes, who disappeared in a flash.

While the requested items were arriving, Dumbledore began discussing the upcoming battle. "I've sent a message to the Ministry of Magic, who I'm sure will come as soon as they can. I don't know what we'll face outside, but it'll be a much greater force than we faced here. Marked Death Eaters cannot pass the gates, and may be waiting there. However, many dark creatures and Voldemort himself may be present. Those of you who can cast a Patronus, handle any Dementors that may be present. As for the rest of you, until I know exactly what we're facing, all I can say is to do your best. Fight lethal force with lethal force." He looked around to see everyone had received their summoned brooms. Harry and Ginny had put on their vest and jacket respectively. Harry's blue rose was still on his school robe, which was covering his vest. "Let's go."

-

What they found outside was even worse than they'd imagined. About a hundred Dementors were there with twenty-five trolls, along with an uncountable army of Inferi. In the distance, another knot formed in Harry's stomach as he saw Voldemort himself behind them. Harry also noticed about a dozen Death Eaters waiting outside the gates.

Dumbledore walked up to Harry. "I'll fight Voldemort. Remember he can't be killed yet. You lead the air fighters. Oh, and fire spells work best against those Inferi."

The old man told Minerva to concentrate on the trolls first and then Inferi, and then began calmly marching toward his battle while Harry began to feel the affects of the Dementors. He shot another cheetah toward them as he mounted his broom and began the aerial assault. "Come on fliers! Everyone who can cast a Patronus, fight the Dementors like Professor Dumbledore said. The rest of you shoot fire spells at the Inferi! Let's get moving!"

Harry began alternating between sending a Patronus at the Dementors and an Incendio spell at the Inferi, lighting them on fire. He noticed about a dozen Dementors had already fled the area, terrified of the many silver-white animals chasing them. He was amazed to watch his cheetah run in the air next to Ginny's wolf, watching them join forces to send another dozen away.

He noticed that Dumbledore had put some sort of fiery rope around some of the Inferi while he was passing them in his stroll toward Riddle. He silently wished he knew that spell as he shot another Incendio, taking down another walking corpse. He hated doing it one at a time.

-

The headmaster finally reached his destination. "Hello, Tom," he said casually, as though meeting an old friend.

"Don't call me by that filthy, muggle name," hissed Voldemort.

Ignoring that statement, Albus continued, "I must admit that you surprised me with the vampires, Tom. I wonder what lies you told to persuade them to join your cause."

"It's none of your concern, old man!" Voldemort then aimed his wand at Dumbledore, shooting a blue beam of light at him. With amazing agility for someone so old, Albus dodged it and shot a purple spell at his opponent, who also dodged.

-

On the ground, Parvati and Padma Patil were fighting the trolls. Together, they shot a pair of blasting hexes at one of their faces, killing it instantly. It fell down, dead. "Yes!" shouted Parvati, a moment before being hit from behind.

Padma watched in horror as another troll hit her sister with its club, and shot a Reducto at the monster, killing it.

-

Luna, in the meantime, was sending a powerful fire spell at the walking corpses, setting three on fire at once. While the Inferi screamed in pain, another grabbed Luna from behind.

Dean, who was flying above her, shot an Incendio spell at its back, causing it to drop Luna as it died again.

"Thanks," she said.

"No prob…Ahhh!" he screamed as one of the few remaining Dementors grabbed him from behind, turned him around, sucked out his soul, and let go of him.

Before his soulless body hit the ground, Ginny's wolf charged that Dementor, sending it flying away. She then sent it chasing the last few Dementors off.

-

Ron had just lit another corpse on fire when a troll noticed him flying above and threw its club at his left side. He didn't see it coming, so was completely surprised when it impacted him, sending him falling six feet off his broom near the edge of the forest. Three Inferi walked up to him while he was down. He felt one touch him just before something big came out of the forest and rammed into the three, running them over.

He almost fainted when he realized what it was. Despite the moss and weeds that had grown all over it, there was no mistaking the old Ford Anglia that he'd driven to Hogwarts years before. Ron caught his breath as he watched it continue to run over the rest of the walking corpses and trolls. Although he was bruised and sore, he didn't have any broken bones. He got up, summoned his Firebolt, and rejoined the fight.

-

Dumbledore was still dueling with Riddle, and at this point it was still unclear who would win. The spells used were increasingly deadly, and more than once had Albus summoned rocks to block Tom's spells. The fight was moving them nearer to the gate as they continued testing each other. Neither had landed a spell on the other.

"So, this is the only man I ever feared," taunted Voldemort, "a broken down old man. I don't know what you hope to accomplish out here, Dumbledore. You can't possibly kill me, and the only one the prophecy claims can is nothing but a fifteen-year-old boy."

"There are worse things than death, Tom, and you know it. This fear of death you have is rather tiresome."

"Quit calling me Tom!" shouted the furious Dark Lord. "Avada Kedavra!"

While Voldemort was still saying that six-syllable curse, Albus nonverbally summoned a rock to hit Riddle in the back of the head while summoning another one to block the spell.

"Ouch!" shouted Riddle as he touched the bump on the back of his head. He felt blood. He angrily aimed his wand at Dumbledore to retaliate, but the old man fell forward before he'd sent a spell, landing face-down in the dirt.

-

Harry was flying toward Dumbledore and Voldemort, hoping to get a few shots in at Riddle, when he saw one of the Death Eaters point his wand at Dumbledore's back. He shot a reducto at the killer, but not before a green light shot from his wand, killing the headmaster instantly. Harry saw his spell make contact with the enemy's chest, putting a hole where his heart belonged. The mask fell off when the dead man hit the ground, revealing a very familiar face wearing a now permanent sneer. Severus Snape had shot Albus Dumbledore in the back. He stared in shock for a few seconds while he lowered his broom. That was all it took.

He fell off his broom as an all-too-familiar pain shot through him. He was under a cruciatus curse for about thirty seconds before it suddenly stopped. While still shaking from the pain, he looked around to see that Neville Longbottom was pointing his wand toward a female Death Eater whose head had been blasted away.

"I killed Bellatrix LeStrange," muttered Neville, looking pale.

Harry shot a reducto at another Death Eater, and that seemed to snap Longbottom out of it, and he joined the fight. Side by side, Harry and Neville took out six of Voldemort's branded cattle, and were joined by Ginny, Ron (on brooms), and Hermione (on foot) to finish off the rest. Ginny killed Lucius Malfoy, who apparently hadn't learned his lesson the last time he fought the redhead.

Suddenly, they heard screaming nearby and Neville shouted, "LUNA!" as he turned to run toward the noise. The others followed to see Luna under a cruciatus curse from Voldemort, who was obviously enjoying himself.

"I haven't had this much fun in years," the maniac declared through his laughter as the blonde girl's body thrashed about in pain.

"Reducto!" shouted Neville as he ran, missing badly but gaining Riddle's attention.

"Avada Kedavra!" he said, shooting a green beam of light at Luna, who was in too much pain to dodge.

"NO!!!!" shouted Neville. "Reducto!" He blasted Riddle in the same leg Harry had shot at their last encounter, causing the madman to fall to the ground, while the leg rolled several feet away.

"So this is Neville Longbottom, the one who could've been the 'Boy-Who-Lived,' had I chosen you."

"What?" Neville asked, confused.

"Don't tell me your good friend Harry hasn't told you that you would've been him if it weren't for a simple twist of fate. Then, maybe, you'd be able to kill me. Crucio!"

Neville barely dodged out of the way, and shot an, "Expelliarmus!" at Riddle, who shielded it and shot the ground below Neville, causing him to trip, falling on top of Luna's corpse.

"Avada Kedavra!" The last thing Neville Longbottom saw was Luna's peaceful face.

Harry, who'd seen the whole thing, felt fury like he'd never known as he shouted, "Crucio!" hitting Voldemort hard.

After a moment, the pain was over, and Riddle laughed. "When you use that spell you have to mean it," he taunted. "Not some righteous anger and a desire for revenge. You have to enjoy hurting someone. Allow me to demonstrate. Crucio!"

At the same time Voldemort sent his spell, Harry sent a, "Reducto!"

The two spells hit each other and bounced away, unlike the time in Diagon Alley when Harry was using his first wand, the one that was brother to Voldemort's. The cruciatus curse hit a bird, making it fall out of the tree for a moment as is squawked in pain before flying away. Harry's spell hit the Whomping Willow, causing one of its branches to fall.

Voldemort then shot a silent spell at Harry, who was unable to dodge this time.

As Ginny and the others watched in horror, Harry disappeared while his wand, glasses, and the blue rose she'd put on his robe, fell to the ground.

"Reducto!" shouted Ginny, sending a spell speeding toward Voldemort's location. He disappeared with a small 'pop,' just before the spell made contact.

"What happened to Harry?" shouted Hermione.

"I don't know," said Ginny, "but he's alive, and not very happy."

-

Please review. Thank you to those who have.


	50. The Power the Dark Lord Knows Not

_Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me._

**If You Can Help Her – Chapter 50 – The Power the Dark Lord Knows Not**

Harry's world went blank for a few seconds as he felt his body compress into itself only to decompress back out in another location. He realized he was standing in mid-air a split second before he fell. As he was lying on the floor, he realized that his vision was blurry. For a moment, he was afraid that Voldemort had hurt his eyes, but then realized that everything was always blurry when he wasn't wearing glasses. He squinted as he looked around for them, only to find he was in a small empty cell. Instantly, pictures of the cupboard under the stairs filled his mind.

Shaking his terror away, he tried to look through the bars to examine the room he was in, but all he could make out was the blurry image of a person chained to a seat in the middle of the room. That was the only person he could see. The walls appeared to be wooden, but with his poor eyesight, it could've just been brown wallpaper. He could feel the fear and anger that Ginny was experiencing, as well as his own. It didn't take Harry long to realize that although his glasses and wand were gone, his gun and knife weren't. They were still safely in their invisible ankle holsters.

Squinting more as he concentrated harder, he could make out that the man was blond and middle-aged. He was dressed in a muggle suit. He also saw that the man looked like living death. With a shudder, Harry realized that the man he was looking at was most likely Voldemort's life insurance. If Tom died while that man was alive, then Riddle would continue in that body. Otherwise, the man would die in a matter of hours. He morbidly thought, '_Once that man is dead, Riddle will be mortal again._' He began fantasizing about shooting Voldemort in the head.

-

At the same time, Hermione, Ginny and Ron were shrinking down three brooms (Harry's, Ginny's and Ron's respectively) in case they needed them. The aurors had arrived about thirty seconds after Voldemort disappeared and were now taking charge of the situation. A few Order members had arrived as well, but Ginny whispered, "I'm not leaving Harry's rescue up to them! I'm going, and I'm the only one who can find him. Are you with me?"

They'd quickly agreed and collected what they thought they might need. Ginny also picked up Harry's wand and glasses. Concentrating on Harry, she took Hermione's and Ron's hands in hers. "Remember, you're apparating yourselves, just following me. That way we can all go together. Otherwise I could only take one of you at a time."

-

With a loud 'pop,' the trio appeared in the middle of a dense forest, with no sign of Harry, anywhere. "You've got to be more careful, Ginny!" said Ron. "We're lucky we didn't wind up inside one of those trees."

"It looks like Voldemort has put up extensive anti-apparition wards wherever Harry is. This is probably the boundary of them."

"I believe you're right, Hermione," said Ginny, "Harry feels a lot closer than he was at Hogwarts." She closed her eyes in concentration and rotated about twenty degrees. "This direction."

"We can't just march there," said Hermione. "We'll be noticed and killed."

"What do you think we should do; wait here until Harry walks by?" asked Ron.

"Actually," said Hermione with a grin, "I thought this would be the perfect time to take a stroll through a forest in my palomino form." She changed into her horse form.

"Good idea," said Ginny with a grin as she became a cheetah, the fastest animal on land. Without commenting, Ron turned into his St. Bernard. The cheetah began running, with the horse and dog struggling to keep up.

-

Harry distinctly heard a door open and close, followed by footsteps. Unfortunately, they were beyond his field of vision. When his visitor was in his sight, Harry wished he couldn't see him. With a bald head, snake-like nose, red eyes, a black robe, and sandals, Voldemort was standing just outside the cell. Harry blinked when he noticed that one of Riddle's feet was silver. He then remembered that Neville had blown away Tom's leg.

"Harry Potter," the Dark Lord hissed, "I trust you've enjoyed your stay thus far, although I'd imagine it was a bit boring. I'm going to liven it up a bit for you." He pointed his wand at the cell's door, which opened immediately. "Now, just to make sure you're not hiding anything like a spare wand…" He performed another spell. This one seemed to scan Harry from head to toe. He had to stop himself from swearing when both his ankles glowed red.

"Now, now, it does seem like you've been naughty," Riddle mock-scolded as he flicked his wand. "Impressive, they can't be summoned. Very well." He pointed his wand at Harry's knees and slashed it across. Harry was afraid he was about to lose his legs. Fortunately, just his robes and pants were cut to knee-high, revealing the bottom half of his legs. "Invisible, too. Very good, but not good enough. Petrificus Totalus."

Under the affects of the full body-bind, Harry was powerless to stop Riddle from removing his gun and knife, along with his original wand, which was concealed with the knife. Voldemort walked out of the cell to a nearby cabinet and placed them in there, locking it with a charm. "I'd remove that vest, too, except that it looks uncomfortable. Finite."

Harry found himself able to move again with Tom ten feet away from him with a wand pointed at his head. "You've got me here, Snakeface! Why haven't you killed me, yet? What do you want?"

Tom sighed as a father disappointed with his offspring. He shook his head. "I suppose you didn't have any parents to teach you manners. Since I'm the reason for that, it seems the responsibility falls on me. Crucio!"

-

About a mile away, a cheetah, horse, and dog were running fast when the large cat fell to the side and started shaking. Her companions stopped and looked at her questioningly as she got back up. The cheetah slowly used her left paw to carve out an 'H' on the ground. The other two nodded in understanding as the cat started running even faster. They followed.

-

Harry never knew how long he'd been under the curse before Voldemort let up. He was still trembling from the aftereffects when his tormentor spoke. "I would continue this lesson, but alas, if you lose your mind it will be for nothing."

"Wh-what do you want?"

"To show you what true power is. To make you realize how wrong you were to oppose me; how wrong your parents…"

Harry lunged at Riddle from the ground, grabbing his human leg and tripping him, only to be kicked in the wrist by the silver one. Harry wasn't sure if his wrist was broken or sprained, but he knew he was hurting. Tom pointed his wand at Harry yet again, but this time it wasn't used for a curse. He found himself floating into a wall while his hands were being raised. He was about a foot off the ground. Suddenly, manacles attached to his wrists and ankles. He cried out in pain when his injured wrist was shackled. He found that only his hands were supporting him. The chains on his ankles were only there to stop him from kicking his captor. He felt a calming sensation coming through his bond with Ginny, and was reminded that she was feeling at least part of this as well. He concentrated hard on thoughts of happiness, trying to send that through the bond instead of pain.

'_Just hold on! We're coming for you!_' He blinked. He could have sworn he heard Ginny's voice in his head as though they were touching. He wondered if he was going insane.

-

The three animagi had arrived at the edge of a clearing, the center of which was what appeared to be an old, abandoned cabin. It was barely bigger than an outhouse. The only evidence that it wasn't abandoned was the magical beast sitting outside the door. Ginny turned back into herself, and the others followed suit. "That's it. That's where Harry is."

"But that's not nearly big enough for…"

"Are you a witch or not?" interrupted Ron with a slight grin. "It could be magically expanded."

Hermione's face flushed in embarrassment. "Er, sorry. Yes. I guess the immediate problem is getting past that beast. It looks familiar, like I've seen a picture of it in a book. Let's see – a human-like head, a lion's body, and the tail of a scorpion. Oh my God. It's a…"

"Manticore!" whispered Ginny and Ron together.

"We've got to avoid that tail at all costs," said Hermione. "I suggest we try to sneak past it."

"How? Manticores are not stupid. It won't be fooled by our forms, and there's nowhere to hide in that clearing."

"Good point," said Ron.

"Maybe if we can run fast enough…" said Ginny.

"That would only work if there were a distraction," said Hermione.

"I'll do it," said Ron. "When it's clear of the doorway, run in and save Harry."

Ron ran into the clearing with his wand out, gaining the beast's attention immediately.

"Hey, peebrain!" he shouted before firing a stunner at the creature. Ron knew that practically no spell would work against the creature, but hoped that they would irritate it.

"Who dares disturb the Dark Lord's lair? You weakling human with your pathetic spells, come closer so I can devour your flesh."

"No thanks. I'll just stay right hear. Expelliarmus!" The red beam bounced harmlessly off the beast.

"You are beginning to annoy me, human!" The beast's human face was getting red.

"If you hate humans so much, why are you the Dark Lord's slave?" asked Ron.

"A manticore is no man's slave," it growled as its lion-like feet began carrying it toward Ron.

When the beast was just about to his new prey, it noticed a cheetah breaking down the now unguarded door and running through it, with a horse not far behind. The monster turned around, hitting Ron with its tail, sending him flying ten feet away, but fortunately not stinging him, which would have been instantly fatal. It ran toward the horse that had paused for a moment when the red-haired teenager was hit. Instead of running toward the doorway, she turned into a human with her wand drawn. She blasted the ground beneath the manticore, causing it to trip as she ran past it toward her boyfriend. She saw that he was unconscious and bleeding from his head. He also had broken bones. She knew she wouldn't be able to get past the monster that was getting up. She pulled Harry's Firebolt out of her pocket and enlarged it, and then quickly set Ron on it and joined him, shakily flying off just before the tail hit her.

-

A group of five Death Eaters were sitting at the table in a room that was bigger than the outside of the cabin they inhabited, when suddenly the door collapse inward and a cheetah burst through.

"I knew we couldn't trust that half-breed to guard the door!" commented one of them.

The cheetah took a look at them and began running straight toward the first one, pouncing on him before the others could even pull out their wands. The first victim was dead from a slit throat and she went after another one, not staying still for a second as spell after spell missed her. These were obviously more new recruits as they were overpowered far too easily.

The cheetah turned into a red-maned teenage girl and looked around. There were three doors to choose from. She concentrated on her bond-mate, who she could feel was in pain, and picked the one on the left, reaching for the doorknob.

-

Hermione and Ron (still unconscious) arrived at the place they'd appeared, so she was confident that they were out of the anti-apparition wards. She landed, and got off the broom, but left Ron on it. Holding both, she apparated them to the lobby of St. Mungo's. She glanced at the line to the desk, and then at Ron's bleeding form, and performed at sonorus charm on her throat.

"Attention! I need a healer NOW, before this patient bleeds to death on your floor!" One look at her face told anyone not to mess with her. Within a minute, a healer approached her. She explained what happened to Ron (giving his name), and as soon as they got him off the broom, she apparated to just outside Hogwarts' gates to get help.

-

Ginny was about to touch the door handle, when she realized that it could be cursed. She performed a simple detection spell Hermione had shown her, and was soon glad she had. It had a spell that would scan the person for something, '_probably the Dark Mark,_' she thought, and kill them if they didn't pass the test. She decided to blast it off its hinges instead. "Reducto!"

Before the dust had settled, she had to duck a green beam of light that was aimed at her head. She looked ahead of her to see ten masked Death Eaters with their wands pointed at her.

"Wait, it's Potter's slag! The Dark Lord said he wanted her alive and brought to him immediately if she showed up."

"Does it have to be immediately?" asked a man from behind his mask. "She's kind of cute."

"He'll do worse to you than he plans on doing to her and Potter if you ruin his fun. But don't worry; he said we can have any other girls that show up. Stupefy!"

Ginny jumped out of the way of that spell, but nine other spells were sent at strategic locations. Five missed her altogether, and three hit her dragon hide jacket harmlessly. Unfortunately, one hit her left leg and she fell unconscious.

-

When she'd been watching Harry giving flowers to Ginny a few hours before, Hermione Granger never dreamed she would be leading a contingent of aurors and Order members (including Sirius Black and Remus Lupin) to rescue him, yet here she was. She obviously wasn't in charge – Kingsley Shacklebolt was – but she was leading them to the cabin where Harry was being held.

After she'd arrived at Hogwarts, he was the first Order member she'd seen, and it helped that he was also an auror. She'd explained most of the situation and had helped her make a portkey close to the cabin. She'd refused to be left behind, so he let her show them where the cabin was, but she was to stay back and let the trained professionals handle the manticore.

They reached the clearing and she pointed at the beast. "There it is."

-

There was a knock at the door to the room where Harry was being tortured, and Voldemort looked up from the meal he was eating while watching Harry hang and pointed his wand at the door, which opened immediately. Harry squinted to see the smile on Riddle's hideous face and turned to see his bond-mate being carried inside the room. His heart sank.

"Your lordship, we have the Weasley girl. She was only stunned. As you requested, she has not been harmed."

"Excellent," hissed Tom, "Set her on the floor and leave us. You and the others will have what's left of her in a few hours."

"Yes, master." As soon as he set her down he bowed and walked away, truly surprised he hadn't been crucio'd even once during that conversation. '_The Dark Lord must be in an excellent mood,_' he thought. He left and closed the door.

Voldemort walked toward the unconscious girl and did the same weapon scan he'd done on Harry earlier. After putting her 'contraband' in the cabinet with Harry's, Riddle said, "Potter, you may be interested to watch this. Rumor has it that this is the only girl you ever dated. Enervate."

-

"Now!" shouted Auror Shacklebolt. A dozen aurors had taken strategic locations and aimed their wands at the manticore. The only way to really beat them is with numbers. They all shot reducto's at its head, with ten of them hitting their target. The beast's head was no more. "Let's go inside," ordered Kingsley.

-

Ginny opened her eyes to find that she was facing the monster that Tom Marvolo Riddle had become. An expression of horror crossed her face when she saw Harry hanging by his wrists looking at her.

"Excellent," hissed Voldemort. "I see that I have both of your undivided attention. Dumbledore is dead. Many of your friends are dead. You will be joining them soon, as well. Miss Weasley, perhaps you can help me persuade Harry that…"

"I'LL NEVER HELP YOU WITH ANYTHING, TOM!!!"

"Don't call me that! Crucio!"

As Ginny was under the cruciatus curse, her screams were enough to get a reaction out of the dying man chained to a chair in the middle of a pentagram. "Haven't you had enough fun torturing me and that guy over there? Why can't you leave the girl alone, you sick monster?"

Tom's curse on Ginny ended as he turned toward his life-insurance. "Mr. Witowski, I commend you for still having the power of speech – most muggles have lost it by this time – but it would have been better for you to have minded your own business. Crucio!"

While the man was under the torture curse, Ginny slowly and quietly made her way toward Harry without getting Riddle's attention.

After about a minute, Tom ended the curse. "Matthew, I do believe you've out-lived your usefulness. Avada Kedavra!"

As the green beam of light hit Voldemort's latest victim, Ginny touched Harry's ankle so they could mind speak.

'_You know what his death means, don't you?_' Harry asked her.

'_Riddle's mortal._'

'_Yes._ _This may be our only chance. Let's transform._'

'_Are you sure we can?_'

'_We have to. We can end this here and now._'

'_Alright. I love you._'

"What are you doing?" shouted Voldemort as he noticed his captives touching. "Crucio!" He'd aimed his spell at Ginny's leg, but it had melded into the rest of her body as Harry and Ginny merged together and began to grow as their shapes changed. "What is this magic?" questioned Riddle as he watched the couple merge to become one huge Hungarian Horntail. A hole was put in the roof as the dragon grew too tall for the space it was in.

'_Wow!_' they thought together. Their minds were working as one.

'_This feels so strange, but so right and good. This is the power that murderer knows not, and we've got to end it now._'

As soon as the transformation was complete, the dragon breathed fire on the Dark Lord, burning him badly. As he tried to run away, it swung its horned tail, impaling the now terrified Tom in the stomach. Finally it bent its head down and bit Voldemort in his middle, separating his head and feet from the rest of him. The dragon then spit out what it had in its mouth just as the door burst open.

-

The group of aurors, under Shacklebolt's leadership, managed to fight their way through the group that had captured Ginny, with only a few casualties. When they burst into that room, the last thing they expected to see was Voldemort's torso dropped in front of them by a dragon that obviously didn't like his taste. Sirius and Hermione were staring at the dragon in complete awe.

Behind them, they heard screams of agony, and the whole rescue party turned to see the Death Eaters they'd stunned now awake and gripping their left arms while twitching as though under the effects of the cruciatus curse. This lasted for about sixty seconds until every visible part of their bodies turned dark green and fell dead from some sort of reaction of their Dark Mark to Voldemort's death.

When the aurors turned back around, they could barely see the dragon. It was high in the sky as it flew off through the hole it made in the ceiling.

"I wonder where that dragon came from," said Kingsley.

"I believe it helped Harry and Ginny," said Hermione vaguely. They searched the room for anything useful, and Hermione was able to identify the contents of the cabinet as belonging to her friends, so Shacklebolt let her take them back to Hogwarts to be returned to their proper owners.

-

About two miles away, a huge dragon was still flying. As one, the voices in its head agreed, '_We should land now._'

It quickly found a clearing and landed, changing back into Harry and Ginny almost immediately.

'_Wow,_' thought Harry. '_That was incredible!_'

'_I know! I feel like I lost something when we…Harry, we're not touching._'

'_but we're still talking! This is great! It must be Phase Four!_' He smiled brightly and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"I guess so. I wonder how far the range is," said Ginny.

"I'd guess that it's just like how we've felt each other's emotions, but we can test it if you'd like." '_Apparate to Hogwarts' gates and we'll see if we can talk from there._'

'_I will, but don't you think we should talk about what happened first? Wait a minute, you're hurt. You need to…_'

Harry held out his hands and moved his wrists to demonstrate, "No I don't. I don't know how it happened, but once we merged all my pain went away and I've never felt better in my life!" He kissed her again while thinking, '_I guess the magic of our merging healed me, because when we separated I was as healthy as I've ever been. Unfortunately, I still need glasses. I wonder where they are, anyway._'

When they separated, Ginny pulled his glasses out of her pocket (they didn't register as a weapon in Tom's scan whereas Harry's and her wands did) and put them on his face. While she was doing that, she noticed something else. '_Harry, your scar looks different. It's a lot lighter, now._'

His hand automatically went up to the mark Voldemort had given him. '_It does feel different. I guess it's because I'm not connected to him anymore. I can't believe he's dead._'

'_Neither can I. I can't believe I'm happy. So many people died and I…_'

Harry put his hands on Ginny's shoulders. "I know that a lot of good people paid the price for this, and we will mourn for them, especially Neville and Luna, but we can at least be happy that they didn't die in vain."

"From what was happening when we left, I think all the Death Eaters were killed by their Dark Marks, so the war is actually over."

'_That means Draco's dead, too, along with Umbridge and all the other Death Eaters in Azkaban._'

'_So much death…_'

"But it's over, now," sighed Harry. "We should get back to Hogwarts."

Ginny apparated first, and after they determined that they could still communicate, Harry joined her at Hogwarts' gates.

Looking around the grounds as they walked toward the castle, Harry thought, '_It's amazing how fast magic can clean things up. You'd never know that there was a battle here just a few hours ago, that right over there, Neville and Luna…_'

'_It's alright. Let it out._' She embraced her bond-mate, and together they cried on each other's shoulders as they thought about the casualties of this war.

They didn't know if they'd been like that for minutes or hours when they heard the sound of a man clearing his throat behind them. They separated to see Sirius Black standing behind them. He had a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but Harry couldn't blame him with the terrible loss of life.

"Hi, cub. You did it! Voldemort and all the Death Eaters are dead. The war is over. You two should be getting Orders of Merlin. The official story is that you and Ginny killed Riddle, and a dragon you two trained came and started to eat his corpse, but didn't like the way he tasted. Minister Bones knows the truth, though, but isn't going to require you register that form. However, she does want you guys, along with Ron and Hermione, to register your normal forms. By the way, congratulations on turning into the dragon."

With a half-smile, Ginny said, "Thanks, Sirius. It was amazing, and it's great that the war is over, but all we can think about right now are the people that died."

"I know," sighed Sirius as the smile left his face. "I know. By the way, you'll probably want to go to St. Mungo's. Ron's hurt."

"WHAT?!" shouted Harry and Ginny together.

Harry said, "Where's…"

"Hermione?" said Ginny.

"Is she..."

"alright?"

"We should…"

"go there,"

"NOW!" they said together.

"Whoa! I thought only Fred and George could do that. Hermione's fine. She's visiting Ron right now. Another one of your classmates, Parvati Patil, is there, too. She was hurt badly by a troll."

"Is there anything…"

"else we should know?"

Sirius was still looking at them in amazement. "Let's see. I'm sure you know Dumbledore's dead." They nodded. "The kids from your classes that were killed are Colin Creevey – a Gryffindor from Ginny's year, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom. Dean Thomas – a Gryffindor from Harry's year – was kissed by a Dementor, as were three others. As I said, Parvati Patil is injured and at St. Mungo's. There were about twenty others from sixth and seventh year, as well as a few teachers – Professor Vector and the Muggle Studies professor – what's his name, that died in the battle, along with the thirteen that were killed by the vampires."

They both nodded sadly at the news.

"Now, if you don't mind my asking, how come once you've turned into a dragon together you can talk like Fred and George Weasley?"

The two teenagers glanced at each other and blushed. Harry finally spoke. "Well, ever since we changed back, we can, er, talk to each other's mind without touching."

Sirius' eyes widened a bit. "Wow. I guess you won't be able to surprise each other anymore. Do you think this qualifies as Phase Four?"

-

Not long after, Sirius, Ginny, and Harry apparated into the lobby of St. Mungo's. The Boy-Who-Lived was almost immediately recognized by several people who started talking all at once, asking questions about whether You-Know-Who was really dead.

"Yes," he said loudly. "Voldemort was a mortal and is now dead! It looks like his followers are, too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to visit my friends who were hurt while fighting them. That's why I'm here."

While Harry was giving that speech, Sirius was finding out where Ron's room was. The three of them took the stairs to the appropriate floor and found Hermione, Arthur, Molly, Fred, and George in the room talking to the youngest male Weasley, who was now awake. Ginny immediately ran up to her brother while Hermione ran up to Harry, embracing him.

"Are you alright, Harry?" she asked her best friend. She lowered her voice so only he could hear, "Before we were separated, Ginny said you were in pain."

"I'm fine, now. Thanks. How's Ron?" He then lowered his voice. "Ginny and I will tell you what happened later."

"The Healers say he'll be fine in a few days."

"Have you heard anything about Parvati?"

Hermione nodded. "Padma told me she has several broken bones, and had to drink a whole bottle of Skel-O-Grow because some of the bones were shattered beyond repair," Harry winced, "but she'll be fine."

"That's good. I'm glad she and Lavender will be able to keep annoying you with their gossip. We should visit her while we're here."

-

Since there were only a few more days left before Christmas Break anyway, acting Headmistress McGonagall decided to start the break early and sent all the students at Hogwarts home so that she and the remaining school governors (half of them mysteriously died within minutes of Voldemort's demise) could prepare for the upcoming term. The first thing they did was permanently make Minerva the headmistress.

Hermione (who returned their stuff) was amazed when she learned about the newest phase of Harry and Ginny's bond, and admitted she'd been keeping a journal about it ever since they consulted her a year before. She said that she hoped to one day publish it – after getting their permission, of course. She was thrilled that her parents were coming out of hiding now that the war was over.

Harry and Ginny could tell that Molly wasn't happy with the latest phase of their bond, but she actually refrained from commenting on it. It seems she'd truly learned that she had to accept their bond whether she liked it or not.

Harry, Ginny, Ron (who was released from the hospital in time), and Hermione attended Neville's, Luna's, Dean's, and Colin's funerals. Dennis Creevey nervously walked up to Harry at his brother's funeral and apologized for what he'd said right after Colin died.

Minister Bones had a ceremony a week after Riddle died that honored both the dead and the living that were at the battle of Hogwarts or the raid of Voldemort's headquarters. All who went outside Hogwarts with Dumbledore, as well as those who went to rescue Harry, received citations for bravery; and all of those wounded or killed in that process received an Order of Merlin – Third Class, with the following exceptions: For exceptional bravery, Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, Kingsley, and Minerva received Orders of Merlin – Second Class. For facing Voldemort himself, Neville, Luna, Harry, and Ginny received Orders of Merlin – First Class (Dumbledore already had one or he would have received it posthumously as well). Harry wasn't comfortable at all with his honors, but Ginny brought him through it. It was announced at that ceremony that Hogwarts would reopen normally in January as scheduled.

The quartet decided to continue their training, despite the fact that the threat of Voldemort was gone. They mostly enjoyed the training, and liked being in shape. They also knew they, especially Harry and Ginny, were famous and bound to be harassed or worse at some point by the families of Death Eaters who hadn't taken the mark, so it was a good idea to be ready to fight.

On Christmas day, Ginny got an idea right after waking up in her room at the Burrow. She immediately mind-called (as they'd named it) her boyfriend. '_Harry, are you awake? Harry?_'

'_I am now. You just interrupted a wonderful dream about you._'

'_Isn't the REAL me better?_'

'_Maybe if you were here…Anyway, what do you want?_'

'_To co-write a poem commemorating our victory._'

There was a long pause. '_You woke me up for that?_'

'_Well, yes, and by the way, Happy Christmas. I can't wait until you and Sirius come here from your house for lunch._'

'_Happy Christmas. I can't wait either. I suppose the poem shouldn't be just about one of us. It should talk about us both…_'

Before they'd left their bedrooms to open gifts, they came up with this poem:

_His eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad_

_Her hair is as red as a sharp flaming sword_

_Became a dragon_

_Bit Tom as he ran_

_The heroes who conquered the Dark Lord._

-

THE END!

This is the first fanfic that I started, and it's taken a very long time to complete it. I hope you enjoyed it. Perhaps one day I'll write a sequel, or make a series of one-shot sequels covering certain events. I may even make it an open series so some of you could write more in this universe. For now, I'm glad that this story is finally over!


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